


Fate of the Clans

by ArchdemonSlayer



Category: Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver, Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/type Redline, K (Anime)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Quotev, Established Relationship, First chaper basically an info dump, Heavy Angst, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mythology References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 47,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27230578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchdemonSlayer/pseuds/ArchdemonSlayer
Summary: The Third Tokyo Holy Grail War has arrived. This time, however, the Masters are the seven Kings. During this fight to the death to get a wish granted, who will emerge victorious in the end? And in the supernatural battles, how many dead bodies will have collected? Also, it turns out there's a remnant of the Second War in 1999 that the Masters and Servants aren't aware of that threatens all of mankind. A dark and tragic story begins as another "fate" comes into being.Has a TV Tropes page.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Suoh Mikoto/Totsuka Tatara
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	1. The Curtain Goes Up

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during December of 2012. Ichigen is still alive, so Kuroh's still a Colorless Clansman, Tatara wasn't shot, and Adolf's still in his original body. He is, however, living at Ashinaka as a teacher and Neko's his Clansman.
> 
> I had originally planned for random mages to represent each Clan. Akiko would have been the Red Clan's, which is the reason her HOMRA mark is above her elbow instead of the back of her right hand. But I scrapped that idea in favor of seven much stronger humans being Masters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The players in this game become assembled.

_The blood-stained chalice has reappeared_

_I am willing to sacrifice anything to reach it_

_My home_

_My family_

_My humanity_

_Even my own life_

_I shall embody all the sins of humanity_

_In life_

_And also in death_

_I shall be an enemy of the entire world_

_I shall be an enemy to the evil of the entire world_

_I will strive to achieve the miracle_

_Even should blood stain this world_

_Even should this world turn into Hell in the process_

_None will be allowed to get in my way_

_I will obtain victory_

_This is all to fill the nothingness_

_This is all to open the doors to Heaven_

_Now, let the battle for the greatest treasure commence_

* * *

_The fire burning in his veins was breaking through his fire resistance and was charring his skin. An inferno of magenta was blazing everywhere around him, consuming the city. But this didn't matter to him. Letting the power run wild brought relief to his body. He didn't care how many end up dying as a result of him losing control._

_"King!"_

_The face of a young man with light brown hair broke into his vision. The person was begging him not to do this._

Amber eyes snapped open. Sweat was causing his red hair to stick to his face.

A brown-haired male turned in the bed to look at the man. The one with the red hair is named Mikoto Suoh, the Red King, who controls fire. Mikoto's the leader of the Red Clan, HOMRA, who's territory is here in Shizume, Japan, part of the Tokyo Metropolis. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Mikoto looked at the person. This one is his Clansman, named Tatara Totsuka. Tatara help calm the beast raging inside the King. Hell, it's probably thanks to the Clansman that Mikoto hasn't self-destructed yet. Around the rest of the Red Clan, Mikoto calls the boy Totsuka as to not give the others a clue that there's something going on that they might consider 'unmanly'. But when it's just the two of them, the redhead calls the other Tatara. "Did I wake ya?"

"No. I couldn't fall asleep."

The dream made Mikoto think about the purpose he serves as a King. The Kings are unnecessary. Though they can make life easier, they aren't needed for the continued prosperity of Japan. Why, then, do they exist still? Is he headed for ruin for no reason? Is he really going to be no different than Genji Kagutsu, the previous Red King who let his power go out of control in 1999, causing his Sword of Damocles to fall and it taking out 100 km of the southern Kanto region, now known as the Kagutsu Crater?

The redhead sighed angrily. "It's all so stupid..."

"You don't like being King, do you?" Tatara said, as if reading the King's mind.

Silence filled the room for a moment. Then Mikoto replied. "It's a fate I can't fight. So I'll put up with it."

"I bet you wish you didn't."

"It doesn't matter whether or not I wanted to be the Red King. I'm stuck with that duty now."

"There's gotta be a way to relieve you of the burden."

"Ya think I haven't looked? The only way is to die."

Tatara pressed himself closer to the King to make him feel less alone. He didn't know how much it was helping. "There should be a way that doesn't involve you dying. We just have to look harder."

* * *

Mikoto walked out to the bar, called Homra and serves as the base for the Red Clan, the next day. Mikoto's room is on the bar's second floor. Tatara had already woken up a few hours ago. Some other Clansmen were laughing and talking by the door. As part of joining HOMRA, the Clansmen get a piece of Mikoto's fire power. It's nowhere near being on the same level as the King's own. Tatara's power is too weak to be used in battle. But it's useful for delicate work, something the others can't do due to their fire being too destructive.

After he plopped down in a barstool, Izumo Kusanagi, Homra's bartender and another Red Clansman, set a glass of bourbon down on the counter in front of the King. Like Tatara, Mikoto has known Izumo for a long time. However, Izumo had become Mikoto's friend in middle school and Tatara joined in while the King was in high school. The two later became Mikoto's first Clansmen.

"You slept almost to noon. Somethin' keep ya up last night?"

"Bad dreams. Also, somethin' showed up on the back of my right hand. Spent some time tryin' to figure out what it is and how I got it." Mikoto held out the mentioned body part. On the skin was what looked like a hollow circle with six wings sprouting out of it, three on each side. It was red and easy to mistake for a tattoo, just like the HOMRA marks.

"Those look like Command Seals," Izumo said. Before Mikoto and Tatara could ask him what he meant, Izumo continued. "A few days ago, this blond girl came into the bar. It was closed at the time, so I was 'bout to ask her why she was here. But she spoke before I could, sayin' she's Servant Ruler, arbitrator for the Third Tokyo Holy Grail War. She projected a large red mark on her back, lookin' like yours, and said they're Command Seals. She had also known that this bar is the base for the Red Clan. She went on to explain the basics of a Holy Grail War to me and gave me some papers as a reminder.

It's basically a fight to the death between seven mages, called Masters, each summonin' a Heroic Spirit, known as a Servant, to help them fight. The last remainin' Master-Servant pair left gains the Holy Grail, which can grant any wish. The Second was in 1999, and it was predicted the Third would take place 13 years later. This time, each Master represents a Clan. Seems you're the one for the Red Clan, Mikoto."

"How long will this be goin' on?" Mikoto asked.

"A Holy Grail War typically lasts a couple weeks."

Misaki Yata, HOMRA's vanguard and the one also called Yatagarasu, went white as a sheet. He doesn't do well at even the mention of ghosts or spirits. "We're gonna have ghost in here for the next two weeks?!"

"I wouldn't worry, Yata," Izumo replied. "The spirit will be under Mikoto's control."

Rikio Kamamoto, an overweight Red Clansman, laughed. "You're such a chicken, Yata!"

The skateboarder prompty punched Rikio in the back of the head. "Shut up, Fatty!"

Izumo sighed before looking back at Mikoto. "A relic relatin' to the hero needs to be used durin' the summonin' to act as a catalyst. I'll find ya a good one."

* * *

A few days later, Izumo handed Mikoto something. The item was a necklace with a wolf's head holding a crescent moon in its mouth.

"I know a guy from the Mage's Association. He got his hands on the relic someone named Misaya Reiroukan used in 1999. This should call forth a Lancer-class Servant, which specialize in hit-and-run tactics. This necklace belonged to Cú Chulainn, a demigod from Irish mythology. He apparently fought in the Second Tokyo Holy Grail War."

"This is the incantation for summonin' a Servant," Izumo handed Mikoto a piece of paper. The King lazily looked over the writing. "Memorize it for when you're performin' the ritual."

"This is stupid," Mikoto said as he set the paper down on the counter. "Why do I even need one? I'm a King. I should be able to take out the Servants on my own."

"Apparently, some Servants hold more power than a King. Even those who aren't on a physical level would be able to come up with plans able to kill one. And they're incredibly durable. Their status as spirits makes conventional weaponry useless on them. They can only be harmed by attacks accompanied by a magical, spiritual, or conceptual enchantment. Plus, the Holy Grail's a spiritual object. It can only be touched by other spiritual entities, so you'll need a Servant to claim it for you."

"I'm sure you're also aware other Kings could be Masters," Tatara put in. "I don't think they'll just let you kill their Servant."

Mikoto grunted. "But we don't know if that's the case or if I'm the only one. Even if others are Masters, we don't know which. I might be able to take them down on my own. Y'know, like the Colorless King. He's supposed to be the weakest."

"That would put a large burden on you, causing your Sword of Damocles to fall."

"Drawin' the summonin' circle requires blood or runic silver to be used. The latter's hard to come by, so blood will have to be used. It doesn't have to be human blood. I'll see 'bout gettin' some."

* * *

That night, Tatara and Mikoto were in bed together. Mikoto was going over the chant for the summoning in his head.

"You want to stop being King, right? Then win the Grail and wish to be an ordinary human."

Mikoto looked at Tatara with wide eyes. "What?!"

"It can grant any wish, right? Then it shouldn't have a problem with undoing you being the Red King."

All he has to do is win and he can stop being the Red King? It would be that easy?

* * *

The next morning, Izumo spoke up once Mikoto got settled in the bar stool.

"I got blood from a cow that got slaughtered. I already made the summonin' circle in the basement. You're ready to summon a Servant now."

"Fine. Let's get this over with," Mikoto said as he stood up from his seat.

"You still have the relic, right? And ya memorized the incantation?"

As if to answer Izumo's first question, Mikoto reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the necklace. "And I have what was written memorized."

"I'm going too!" Tatara said. "I want to see you summon a Servant!"

"Fine." Mikoto looked at Izumo. "What about you?"

"Anna should be wakin' up soon. I'll fix her breakfast for when she does."

So Mikoto and Tatara went down into the basement alone. The target was in the back of the room.

"So, this is the summonin' circle?" It was made up of lines of red, blood having been used to make it. Inside the circle were several symbols, looking like letters, around an 8-pointed star. Four of the points were completely filled in with red. Between each point was a letter-like symbol. Four were encompassed by a circle. He set the necklace on the table on the other side of the table and then stood by Tatara and held his right hand out to the circle.

"Silver and iron will be the elements and stone shall be the foundation. Lay down walls to the winds of four directions and follow the three-forked road that leads from the Crown to the Kingdom. Be filled five times, but destroy each. My will is what creates your body while your sword carves my destiny! If you heed the Grail's call, then answer me and submit to my will and reason! I herby swear to represent all the good in the world and to vanquish all that is evil! You, who bears the three words of power, appear from the binding of one of the seven pillars, Guardian of Scales!"

At this point, wind was blowing from the circle, which was glowing red, so hard that Mikoto wouldn't be surprised if his hair turned out somewhat messy. Mist erupted from the summoning circle when the incantation was finished.

The mist cleared, revealing a man standing in the center of the circle. He looked to be around the same height and age as Mikoto himself. He had his head down in a bow, messy blue hair concealing his eyes, and his right arm across his chest while bowing. For some reason, the redheaded King was reminded of a wolf looking at this one. As if on cue, the remains of the winds caused a bestial scent to hit his nose.

The Servant spoke up. "Servant Lancer respondin' to your summons. I swear to always protect ya. I'll be your sword and your shield. Your fate shall be my fate." He raised his head then looked around. This allowed Mikoto to see that this man had red eyes with serpentine pupils. This made him look even more like an animal. "Ya sure we aren't bein' monitored? I don't sense any bounded fields for preventin' scryin'. Even if it's unknown who's a Master, it's known that the seven are from each Clan." His canines looked like little fangs. He definitely looked like some kind of beast.

"Pretty sure we're fine down here," Mikoto replied.

He looked uncertain but was staring intently at Mikoto. "You bear Command Seals, so ya must be my Master. What's your name?"

"It's Mikoto Suoh. I'm also known as the Red King. Just call me Mikoto."

The man's crimson gaze flicked to Tatara. "And he is?"

Tatara bowed, opting for giving respect instead of the casual attitude Mikoto was using. "Welcome, Mr. Heroic Spirit. My name -"

The Servant waved one hand dismissively. "Ya can stop being formal with me. It makes me uncomfortable to hear someone talk to me so stiffly. Just call me Lancer."

"You're supposed to be Irish. So why're ya speakin' Japanese?" Mikoto asked.

"The Grail gives us knowledge 'bout the language where we're summoned as well as allowin' us to speak several other languages."

"That's good," Mikoto said. "It'd be troublesome if we couldn't communicate. I also notice ya have a full understandin' of what's goin' on. That also from the Grail?"

The knight nodded. "We have a full understandin' of the basics of the Grail War and enough knowledge 'bout the time period we're in to get through it no problem."

"What did you see during the War in 1999?" Tatara asked the Servant. Maybe this warrior could provide a clue on how to win.

"We don't retain memories of prior summonin's. And yet..."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "And yet? Do ya remember somethin'?"

Lancer's gaze fell to the floor. "I...don't know. But whenever I try to remember those battles, I feel sad for some reason. What went down?"

"So you'll be King's partner now?" Tatara asked.

"Yes. I'll be his bodyguard for as long as his Command Seal remains."

Mikoto allowed his eye to take in all the armor the Servant wore. "Ya stick out like a sore thumb."

Lancer rubbed the back of his neck. "I know. I need modern clothes in order to blend in for when I'm not fightin'."

Mikoto sighed. "Come upstairs. We'll see if my clothes fit ya. If they do, you can borrow 'em for today."

Izumo met them once they had emerged from the basement. Chatter was coming from the bar. The other Red Clansmen had arrived.

"The summonin' was successful?" Izumo asked. Tatara and Mikoto nodded. Izumo turned his attention to the Servant. "So, Cú Chulainn, we -"

"Just call me by my Class Name instead of my True Name," the Celt broke in. "A lot of us in the Throne died in battle, myself included. True Names can be used by the enemy to exploit weaknesses."

"Throne?" The three humans asked that at the same time.

"The Throne of Heroes. It exists outside reality and holds the Heroic Spirits of the past, present, and future. Time also doesn't exist there, so we can always be kept in our prime even though I'm from what's called the 1st century B.C. This form is 24 years old."

"You died pretty young," Tatara said.

"Well, I made it to 30, but you're right. It was my fate. I lived a glorious, yet short, life."

"We need to get ya into some new clothes," the Red King said while starting to go up the stairs. "Up here."

Lancer sped walked up the stairs to catch up to his Master. "Comin'!"

Several minutes later, Lancer came out to the bar with the redheaded King and was wearing a new outfit. His clothes looked just like Mikoto's.

Izumo took notice of this right away. "Lent him yours, Mikoto?"

"We're the same size. Besides, this is just until he gets his own clothes."

Someone from the bar ran up to the warrior. It was a small girl with pale skin and silver-white hair. She was staring at the blue-haired man with big red-violet eyes. "You have a pretty red too, like Mikoto."

Lancer just stared at her with confusion etched on his features. "Ah?"

Izumo decided to explain. "Anna can only see the color red, but with us she's talkin' 'bout our auras. You aren't a Red Clansman, so why do ya have a red aura?"

"She must be referring to my mana. It's red."

Misaki was looking at Lancer with suspicion. "He's your partner, right Mr. Mikoto? So he won't suddenly attack us?"

"As long as all of you aren't tryin' to kill him, ya have nothin' to fear from me," Lancer replied.

Rikio didn't say anything about how that thing Misaki said was due to the fact ghosts freak him out. He had received a really hard punch.

"You gonna make him a Clansman?" a young man named Kousuke Fujishima asked.

Mikoto let out a sigh. "I dunno 'bout possibly burnin' my own Servant to a crisp. He's already supposedly loyal to me. 'Sides, he's supposed to be stronger than me on a physical level, so I dunno how badly he needs a part of my power."

"No way that's true!" Shouhei Akagi exclaimed.

"Apparently, ya can go into spirit form, Lancer," Izumo said. "Care to demonstrate?"

"No prob -"

"Wait, WHAT?!" The knight glanced to see who that was. The shout came from Misaki. He looked a little scared right now. Sweat was building on the boy's face. Lancer, smirking and getting an idea, dematerialized without budging a muscle. "He vanished?!"

Izumo looked at the boy. "He might look to have a body like the rest of us, Yata, but he's still a spirit at the end of the day. I wanted to see if he could still go into a spiritual state."

Misaki was about to say something when the demigod materialized behind him. "Yo!"

A very girly scream escaped Misaki's lips. The boys around him broke out laughing.

Tatara laughed nervously. "He's certainly...playful."

"Is he really that strong?" Mikoto looked doubtful. Misaki threw a punch at Lancer's face, but the Servant easily caught the fist, chuckling the whole time. He's supposed to have been through war, right? And yet he seems easy to get along with. Is the fact he's still cheerful a mask to conceal something else?

"Don't judge a book by it's cover," Izumo replied. "A Lancer is a Knight Class Servant, with that and the other two said to be the best in the War. Still don't believe me? Check his stats. Apparently, Masters can see the stats of each Servant by concentratin'. It's a form of clairvoyance."

Mikoto glanced at Izumo. "Stats? Is this a game?"

"Seems that way."

Mikoto sighed before attempting to check out his Servant.

Strength: A

Agility: A+

Luck: D

Endurance: C

Mana: B

Noble Phantasm: B

Noble Phantasm? What's that? Lancer might know.

"Hey, Lancer!" The mentioned Servant came over to Mikoto.

"What's up?"

"I noticed 'Noble Phantasm' on your parameter list. Know what that is?"

"Noble Phantasms are the strongest attack of a Servant. My weapon can be used to invoke two different Noble Phantasms. The first, which reverses cause and effect to hit the heart, is classified as Anti-Personnel, meant to be used on one target, and has a low mana cost. I can use it six or seven times before requirin' more mana. The second is a bit more costly but is Anti-Army, which targets multiple enemies. The curse of death is in the blast and anyone it touches is instantly killed."

"Sounds like somethin' ya should be makin' plenty of use of."

Lancer shook his head. "There's a catch."

Izumo groaned. "Of course there is. So what is it?"

"A Noble Phantasm requires the True Name to be said for use. As they're always linked to the hero using it, the Noble Phantasm can reveal our True Name. Even should mine kill the enemy, another foe could be hiding nearby and could figure out my True Name. 'Sides, I don't wanna fight to end that easily! It'd kill my fun! I'll only use it if I've been pushed into a corner or a stalemate."

"So you're someone who likes to beat the shit outta people," Izumo summed up. "You'll fit in with the Red Clan _great_."

"Yeah, but humans are too fragile. They easily up and die. Servants are more durable, so I can have fun."

* * *

The location was in a replica of a house's room in an old water storage facility. In front of a T.V. and playing a video game with two others was a young lady. Servant Saber. Her True Name is Mordred. She was the "son" of the King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon, and is called the Treacherous Knight. This knight's Master is the Green King, Nagare Hisui. He's the leader of JUNGLE.

Saber swatted at Kotosaka. The green parrot evaded and cackled. "Stupid parrot! I swear I'll cook you one of these days!"

Tenkei Iwafune glanced lazily at her while drinking another can of beer. He was sitting down at the kitchen table. "I've given Kotosaka that same threat numerous times. Trust me, he won't listen."

The knight had to shoo Kotosaka away again, who had landed on her head and tugged at her ponytail. "Looking down on a Servant..!" She looked back at Nagare. "Master! Can't you do anything about your stupid bird?!"

The Green King gave his Servant a small smile. The fabric over his right hand of the straightjacket he wore was open and pulled back, exposing the Command Seal on the back of it. The mark looked like a single red feather, but on the bottom looked like a smaller copy of the feather. This one was pointing down to his wrist. "It's fine. He isn't hurting you."

"But this flying fucker is causing me to mess up in the game!"

Yukari Mishakuji didn't look up from his nails, which he was painting. He was just lounging in a couch of this room. "You shouldn't swear so harshly in front of little kids." He glanced at Tenkei, waiting to see if the Grey King will say anything.

Tenkei didn't have his attention on the blond but rather on the King in the wheelchair. "Nagare, try to control your Servant before I have to."

Saber turned her attention back to the T.V. "I'd like to see you try, old man," she growled under her breath.

"Not like it isn't something I haven't heard a million times already," Sukuna Gojou said.

"You want to grow up with a foul mouth? Not very attractive," Yukari replied.

"Like I care what you think..." Sukuna muttered.

Saber snarled. "And I'll say whatever I damn well please..."

"You're acting like a little girl, Saber. I would have expected better from a Knight of the Round Table," Rider said, not tearing his eyes away from the T.V. screen. "Killed you again!"

"Dammit!" She slammed her controller down in a fit of rage. Amazingly, it didn't break. "Kill him for me, Sukuna!"

Servant Rider. His True Name is Iskandar. However, he's also known as Alexander the Great. He's called the King of Conquerors. His Master is the Grey King, Tenkei Iwafune. He, along with the others present, were Green Clansmen. And yes, this also included the parrot. He and Nagare have been hiding down here ever since Nagare got his ass beat by the Gold King. But hopefully this Tokyo Holy Grail War distracts that old buzzard enough to allow he and Nagare to come out of hiding.

"Alright! That's one hour! Video game time for today is over!" Tenkei said sternly to the three in front of the T.V.

Saber was looking at Tenkei with a look of utter disbelief on her face. "Whaaaat?!"

Sukuna shut off the game console. "Don't bother arguing. It's one of Mr. Iwa's rules."

"That you can only play video games for an hour a day?! That's absurd! Rider, back me up here!"

Before the king could say anything, Tenkei fixed his Servant with a stone-cold look so intense that it made even the much larger man gulp nervously. "You agree, right Rider?"

Rider set his controller down, gently compared to the short-fused Saber's treatment of the device. "An hour seems reasonable..."

Saber was glaring at Rider. "Wuss."

"Well, he's my Master." The redhead looked at Tenkei with a serious look on his face. "Mr. Iwa, we need to talk alone."

The blond knight grinned and her green eyes glittered in a teasing way. "Aw, don't want me there?"

"It's about the Grail War."

Saber's face instantly dropped. "Oh..."

The brown-haired man set down his beer can on the kitchen table. "There's a room next this one that we use for training. Will that work?"

The Servant stiffly nodded. "As long as we can't be heard."

As Tenkei left with Rider, Saber looked at Nagare. "Master, we need to talk about it as well."

"Very well. Do we also need to go elsewhere?"

The woman shook her head. "No. Here should be fine." She looked at the two human Clansmen. "I need both of you to go elsewhere for a bit."

Sukuna cocked his head. "Huh? We can't stay?"

"I can't trust that you won't say anything to Mr. Iwa or Rider."

"We'll keep our mouths shut! I promise!"

"What if started talking about killing them? Can you stay silent then?"

Sukuna looked to be struggling to find something to respond with. Yukari just got himself ready to head out. He went over to Sukuna and handed the boy a coat and what looked like a black staff. "Let's take a walk in the city."

Sukana snatched his things from Yukari. "Fine. I'll see how many low-level missions I can finish before we have to head back."

"And what about Kotosaka?" Nagare asked.

Almost as if on cue, the mentioned parrot landed on the swordsman's head and began tugging at her strands of hair. The Servant narrowed her eyes, snarled, and a vein appeared on her forehead. "I trust the damn bird least of all! It goes for this too!"

Yukari coaxed Kotosaka onto his shoulder. "Let's go." He switched his gaze to the King in the straightjacket. "Will you use him to tell us when you've finished?"

Nagare nodded. "Of course."

Once the Clansmen left, Saber opened a telepathic channel to Rider. _'Yo, Rider.'_

_'Why are you communicating with me like this, Saber? I thought we agreed to only do this in the event of an emergency.'_

_'I know. But I also need to talk to my Master about this War. Are you and Mr. Iwa out of earshot?'_

_'We just started talking. There's even a door. Just let me know when you and Nagare are done.'_

_'Thanks.'_ The link ended. Saber walked over and sat down in a chair to the kitchen table, turning it so she was facing the King with the dark brown - almost dark green - hair. The Servant was the one who spoke first.

"Are ya ready for this battle?"

Nagare responded with a serene smile. "From what Ruler said, this seems to be a game where you bet your life. In that case, it may prove fun."

Saber sighed. While she did agree with the idea that this is just a deadly game, she needs to make sure her Master knows just how dangerous it actually is. "It may be just a game, but don't take it lightly. If you do, you could lose it. And even if the Grey King's your ally, you have to learn not to trust him. He might be plannin' to kill ya to eliminate one of the players."

"He isn't that type of person."

"Maybe not normally. But this is a Grail War. The desire to win can make some people act out of character."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Rider was looking right at Tenkei. "You know that you and Nagare will eventually have to fight to the death. Will you be able to handle it?"

Tenkei let out a bitter laugh. "Seems this Grail War is good at tearing families apart."

"Try to answer the question."

"Dammit, I already know! It's not exactly something I'm looking forward to!"

"I know, but you'll need to steel yourself for when it happens."

* * *

A woman was walking down a dirt path, trailing a couple steps behind two others. Servant Berserker. Her True Name is Kiyohime, the one who burned alive the person who broke her heart. She serves the Colorless King, Ichigen Miwa. Berserkers are normally large consumers of mana, but due to his status as King, Ichigen was having no trouble with the upkeep.

She was glaring right at Kuroh, a Clansman of the Colorless King, who she saw as an obstacle that keeps her from getting close to Husband. "Back off from him, bishounen. Unless you want me to pry your ribs open."

Kuroh couldn't help taking a few steps back at the intensity in this dragon's voice and in the look she was giving him. She was really prepared to do that.

The brown-haired King came over after realizing his Servant and Clansman had stopped walking. "Is something wrong?"

The black-haired young man pointed an accusing finger at the girl. "This yandere just threatened me with death!" He knows her True Name and what she did to Anchin.

Berserker was attempting to look as innocent as possible. "I have no idea what he's talking about, Master!"

Kuroh only responded with a growl, glare fixed on this demon in human form.

"A new feud erupts. The dog and dragon argue. Will they get along?"

Kuroh was gazing at Ichigen with large, sparkling eyes. "As always, your haikus are beautiful!"

The blue-haired girl, meanwhile, was glowering at back of the 18-year-old's head so intensely that it alone should've killed him. "Maybe I should roast you alive here and now?" But she made sure to say it quietly so Husband won't hear.

"You need to learn to coexist with others," Ichigen said right to the horned girl. "Or do I need to order you with the Command Seal?"

Berserker went over and grabbed Ichigen's right hand, running one gentle hand over her Master's Command Seals. Four wings were spouting from both sides of an eye with a feather going down the middle. "Each Command Seal is made up of three strokes. That means it can only be used three times. Try not to use up your strokes, or you won't be a Master anymore." If that happens, she'll probably resort to blood-sucking if it means she can stay with Husband. But if she becomes a Stray Servant from him dying, she'll probably up and commit suicide.

Kuroh was staring at Berserker with uncertainty. Even though she's smiling, that was a concealed warning to the King. It meant "don't you dare waste a stroke to get me to play nice".

* * *

One man was sitting at a desk with another standing before it. The location was SCEPTER 4 HQ, Tsubaki-mon. The one standing up is Servant Archer. True Name: Chiron. He had been the teacher of many Greek heroes. This centaur is currently under the command of the Blue King and leader of the police-like SCEPTER 4, Reisi Munakata.

"The Grail War can be likened to a game of chess." Archer was saying. "The pieces in the back tend to represent the Servants as they have their own maneuvers and are ones to watch out for. Masters are the pawns. Servants tend to look down on them, but that's what can make them so dangerous. This allows Masters to easily slip under the radar and deal devastating damage."

Reisi smirked. "I see. So this is a game of strategy. My impression was that this would be some lawless slugfest."

A woman walked in. "Captain - Captain, who is this?"

"Ah, Ms. Awashima. This is my Servant, Archer."

The blond bowed. "My name is Seri Awashima. I serve as Captain Munakata's lieutenant. It's an honor to meet you, Sir Archer."

Archer had a kind smile on his face. "Be at ease and just call me Archer."

"I was going to introduce him to the Special Squad. I also believe Mr. Zenjou should meet him. Can you fetch him and have him wait with the others in the main room?"

"Very well. I'll let him know." She turned and went out the door.

Reisi stood up. "I'll take you to meet the others."

Archer was walking alongside the Blue King down the hall. "Master, in this upcoming battle, you'll ask yourself at some point 'is this wish worth destroying someone else's?''

Reisi glanced at the man with the horse tail out of the corner of his eye. "Why are you bringing this up?"

"I thought you should know you'll also be confronting morality."

Reisi smirked and adjusted his glasses. "It matters not, because I know whatever I choose will be right since I am on justice's side."

Archer narrowed his eyes. "While I agree with fighting for justice, I also know that you must steel yourself in the event where you have your ideals ruined."

"My resolve is pure. It can never be defiled."

The horse remained silent, only giving the King a sympathetic look.

* * *

A man was laying back against the wall of a house on the roof of Mihashira Tower with his hands behind his head. Servant Assassin. His True Name is Okada Izou. The manslayer known as the Ghost of Tosa. His Master is the Gold King, Daikaku Kokujouji. He is known as the strongest King and is the one in control of the Dresden Slate, a mysterious stone slab that grants Kings their power.

The old man was looking at this black-haired Servant. "So you specialize in killing people?"

Assassin only regarded the King with a lazy glance. "Well, yeah. I'm one of the four manslayers for a reason. By the way, ya got any sake here?"

Daikaku sighed. "Are you really looking to get drunk?"

"Well, yeah! But I'm bored outta my mind!"

"You _are_ aware we could be attacked at any time?"

"Ya think I don't know that?!"

"Then why are you aiming to get so drunk you can't stand?"

"I never said I'll get _that_ drunk! I'll still be able to function! Now do ya have any sake here or not?!"

"The bar's on the ninth floor." Assassin stood up and started to head out of the Japanese house. "Wait! I'll have an Usagi make sure you don't drink too much."

The swordsman groaned. "I'm not a baby!"

"No, I just want to make sure you won't vomit in here."

Assassin scratched his head. He couldn't think of a retort against that. "Fine, fine...Hey, Master."

"What is it?"

"About the Holy Grail War. Have ya ever killed someone?"

"A couple, but purely by accident."

"It can be fun to watch someone's dying struggles."

"You seem to derive great joy from taking lives."

"Apparently, it's the correct mindset to have. You'll need to harden your mind if ya wanna make it outta here. Bein' too soft can make ya slip up."

* * *

A man opened an apartment room. No one was with him; he's alone. Or was he?

"And this is where I live."

A woman materialized next to him in a dust of blue. She didn't look human. She possessed fox ears and a fox tail. Servant Caster. She had already revealed that her True Name is Tamamo no Mae. In life, she had been called a demon fox. She serves the Silver King, Adolf K. Weismann. Despite him appearing to be in his early 20's, he was around 90. This is due to him not aging after he became King. He hurried the woman into the room and shut the door before anyone saw the Servant.

She was bowing to the silver-haired man. "Please don't judge me for what happened during my first life. I promise not to give you a reason to hate me."

Adolf was smiling. "Don't worry! I only care about who you are now, not the sins of your past."

Caster raised her head, amber eyes glittering with tears. "Thank you so much, Master!"

"Just call me Adolf. Or Addie, if you prefer."

The Servant embraced her Master in a tight hug. "Of course, Adolf!"

Neko, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, crossed her arms. "You're going to trust this fox-lady?"

Caster looked at the cat girl with a neutral expression. "And who's she?"

Neko huffed. "Someone who's senior to you!"

Adolf answered the question. "Neko here is my Clansman. She doesn't trust new people at first, but she'll warm up to you in time."

"And she knows about me?" Caster asked.

"She knows that you're my Servant, but not your True Name."

Neko was looking right at Adolf. "You mentioned she sinned in her first life. What did she do?"

"I'm afraid that only Caster has a right to tell you about it. You'll have to ask her."

Caster spoke up. "I'll only say that this time, should the world become my enemy, it'll be by my own will."

Neko cocked her head in confusion. "Huh? What does that mean?"

"Before, I was hated for a reason I was innocent in. But if it happens again, it will be because I wished it to be."

"So you'll help him fight in the Grail War?"

"I'm a frail woman. I can't go out and fight."

"Then what good are you?!" Neko demanded.

Adolf laughed nervously. "It's fine, Neko. I'm not looking to go out and fight either. Given how powerful Servants are, I should have one help you watch my back."

Neko huffed and crossed her arms. "I told you that I'd be able to take them down on my own!"

Caster narrowed her eyes at the cat-like Strain. "...Even _Assassin_ would give you a one-sided ass kicking."

* * *

It was afternoon. Lancer was sitting in a bar stool next to Mikoto. Both were having a drink.

"He's followin' Mikoto around like some kinda dog."

It was true. Lancer had not left Mikoto's side once today. But calling him a dog...

Lancer stiffened up, ear twitching, and shot the speaker wearing the derby hat a glare so intense it should've killed him if the immense killing intent he radiated didn't. " _What_ did you just call me?!"

"Woah! Why'd ya get mad all of a sudden?!" Masaomi Dewa, the one that was directed at, exclaimed.

Lancer bared his fangs. "I'll let ya off the hook just this once. But if you _ever_ call me a dog again, you'll regret it a second later!"

Mikoto sighed. Looks like calling the Servant a dog is a big no-no. He grabbed a leather coat and put it on. "I'm gonna head out."

Lancer perked his head up. "Need me to come with ya?"

"I'll be fine without ya while not fightin'. Just stay here and talk to the Clansmen."

"You'll be killed if ya aren't careful."

"It won't be that easy since I'm a King."

"Well, don't think you're completely safe even durin' daytime. A Servant might sneak attack ya."

"Again, I'm a King. I can hold my own long enough to get away."

"...Fine. But telepathically summon me if ya find yourself against a Servant. Your clairvoyance only works on them, so if ya concentrate and can see the person's stats, it's a Servant. I'll come as fast as I can if ya need me."

"You guys can telepathically communicate?!" Saburouta Bandou demanded.

"Normally, only to our own Masters and vice versa. We can also open a channel to other Servants and Masters, but it's not often." He directed his attention back to Mikoto. "If ya don't think I'll make it in time, call me with a Command Seal and I'll teleport to ya."

"Whatever." With that, Mikoto exited the bar.

The Servant sighed. "I know night is when the killin's usually happen, but he's gotta learn he can't ever let his guard down durin' this..."

"It's really dangerous at night?" Eric Surt asked.

"The War's a secret magecraft ritual. Ordinary people can't learn about it. They're usually killed if they witness magecraft. Havin' fights at night reduces the chance for a cleanup need."

"If that's the case, why is there a possibility of Mikoto bein' attacked durin' the day?" That was Kousuke.

"There could be some Master-Servant pairs who want to win so badly that they don't care what time of day it is."

"Which are you?"

"I'll obey mage rules. But will Mikoto?"

Izumo chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about him. I actually don't know how much he even cares about the War."

"The Grail selected him to be a Master. He has to have some wish he wants granted."

* * *

About an hour later, Mikoto returned to the bar. He was holding a box.

"I bought ya some clothes," he said to Lancer. "They should fit ya."

"I'll go try 'em on then."

"I need to go upstairs too. I'll join ya."

A few minutes later, Anna got off a bar stool and went up the stairs. She went to the closed door to Mikoto's room and knocked. "Mikoto? I need to ask something. I'm coming in."

Tatara bolted to the stairs. Someone was changing in that room. "Anna!"

It was too late. The little girl opened the door. Inside wasn't Mikoto, but rather Servant Lancer. He was completely naked, aside from wearing a pair of boxers and trying to get his pants on.

It was at that point Tatara showed up behind Anna and covered her eyes. Did the spearman seriously forget to lock the door? Lancer was displaying no embarrassment at having been walked in on, especially by a little girl. Did he have no shame? Thankfully, it wasn't the worse-case scenario Tatara envisioned, where Anna would get an eyeful of the Servant with his boxers off. At least Anna probably didn't see that the knight was mostly naked since she wasn't looking through one of her marbles, which let her see all colors.

"Need somethin'?" Lancer asked casually.

"It's nothing," Tatara replied.

Anna was trying to remove the hand covering her eyes. "Tatara, I can't see."

Tatara laughed nervously. He supposes it's fine since it's not as bad as he feared. "Ah, sorry."

Tatara couldn't stop his eyes from looking over the Celt's bare body. He was really handsome, between his flawless skin and the lean muscles that were much more pronounced than Mikoto's. The Clansman shook his head. While this warrior is good-looking, Tatara is only interested the Red King.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

As soon as those words from the Servant hit Tatara's ears, the young man's face flushed. Was he really staring that long?

Anna glanced at the Clansman. "Tatara? Why is your face all red?"

It was at that moment Mikoto came out of the bathroom. "Somethin' happen? Huh? What happened to your face, Totsuka?"

Tatara gulped. If he wasn't careful this could turn ugly. He looked back to the bedroom. Lancer had the clothes on. He walked out of the bedroom.

"They needed to ask me somethin' is all. What? I can't be asked questions from the others now?"

Mikoto took a deep breath. "No, it's fine." He seems to have forgotten the fact Tatara was blushing. "I'm gonna go down. I forgot to buy cigarettes so I'm gonna bum some from Kusanagi."

"He'll get mad at you," Tatara pointed out.

"Let him."

Anna ran up by the King's side, following him down the stairs.

"Thanks for that," Tatara said to Lancer. "I was afraid King might find out and burn the bar in anger."

Lancer grinned. "No prob! I haven't had him as my Master a full day yet, but I've got a feelin' he isn't pleasant when he's pissed." Then the spearman barked a laugh. "Though not as bad as me! There's a reason I can be a Berserker!"

"You'll keep King safe, right? I have a feeling the next two weeks will be too dangerous for me to be present."

"Settin' aside the fact he's my Master, you're talkin' to Culann's Hound. Of course I will."

"I know you vowed to be his shield, but promise me you'll get him through this."

"I promise."

Lancer came down the stairs and out into the bar. He was wearing a red, button-up, collared shirt as well as a pair of black pants. He went over to his Master.

"You and Totsuka were up there for a while," Mikoto said.

"I had promised Tatara that I'd keep ya safe the whole War. I'm gonna try to keep it."

"Fine." Lancer suddenly seemed to freeze up. Mikoto glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

"It seems Ruler is talkin' to the Servants telepathically. Here's a rundown what she's sayin'." While most of it was a basic reminder on how a Holy Grail War works, some bits of info Mikoto didn't know about. "Because of the Kings and Clansmen, the people of the Tokyo Metropolis tend to turn a blind eye to supernatural events. Even so, the Servant fights must occur only at night so less innocent people could get involved in this shit show. Our insticts will try to have us battle it out in places where there shouldn't be people at night, but the fight could be brought onto the streets. The Dresden Slate has adjusted itself for this War. As such, the Swords of Damocles for each King will not degrade from killin' another King." That's when the link ended.

"This probably means other Kings are Masters," the young man called Yõ Chitose said.

Izumo tapped some ash from his cigarette into an ashtray. "But the question will be whether they'll stay at their base or if they'll move."

"I'll stay at the bar to protect it," Mikoto said. "But ya Clansmen should stay home until this is over."

"We're not gonna chicken out," Izumo replied. The others, even Tatara and Anna, nodded in agreement.

"Ya sure? You'll be bettin' your lives."

"So will you!" Tatara said back. "Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end. We're all here to support you."

"You'll stay out of the actual fightin'. This is my battle."

Lancer sighed before speaking up. "The question ya should be askin' yourself is how far you're willin' to go to get your wish granted."

"Hm?" Mikoto glanced at his Servant. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

"You'll find out soon. And some of it might break ya." He whispered the last part. Then he spoke at a normal volume. "So, are ya gonna fight?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Ya could sit it out, but you'll still be attacked."

Mikoto gave a small laugh. "We'll have to fight either way. So I'll join in."

Lancer looked at Izumo. "You should stock up on first-aid items. Gonna need 'em often."

"Fine, I'll go shoppin' tomorrow," Izumo replied. "Anythin' else?"

"Nope."

Rikio rubbed his belly. "Are we gonna eat soon? I'm starving!"

"Gee, what a surprise..." Misaki grumbled. Then his stomach growled and his face went red. The other male Clansmen and Lancer broke out laughing. "Hey! Leave me alone!"

Anna, suddenly feeling the need to do this, held up one of her red marbles, looking at Lancer through it. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

Lancer's blue hair had streaks of red and his armor was black with veins of red. The warrior's skin was as white as snow, like a corpse's. But what really stood out were his dull and lifeless yellow eyes. For some reason, it frightened the little girl. It was almost like she was looking right at a monster.

"Is somethin' wrong, Anna?" Izumo asked. Anna suddenly realized she was shaking fearfully. She blinked and the image of Lancer as he is presently took the place of whatever she saw in the marble. Did she only imagine it? And if not, what _was_ that?!

"I'm fine. We should probably hurry and eat."


	2. The Day Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A time of quiet before the first storm breaks.

_The stench of blood and death hung heavily in the air and dead bodies littered the battlefield, so many that it would be hard not to step on some of the organs spilling out._

_Lancer was present. He stood among the sea of corpses. The knight had a few swords piercing his back and blood streaming from several wounds all over his body, but continued to stand as if they weren't even there. At least, it was assumed it was his blood. So much was splattered on him that it was honestly a little hard to tell. His level of killing intent was outrageous. It was thick enough to make it seems like it would be impossible for anyone else to breathe. His shoulders shook as he laughed. "Bring it, ya bastards!" the demigod shouted. He had the craziest look in his eyes the King had ever seen, a look from a ravenous beast. A bloodthirsty grin was on his face, fang-like canines glinting in the sun._

_Some people were slowly backing away, murmuring something about "he's Ulster's monster!" before turning tail and running away as fast as possible in the opposite direction. Lancer didn't pursue. If they were running, then they were probably too weak._

_A soldier came up to Lancer while riding a horse. "An order from King Conchobar. The enemy is retreatin'. All Red Branch Knights are to fall back."_

_The demigod's face instantly dropped. The sickening level his killing intent was at suddenly vanished without warning. The fact the man was able to approach this deranged wolf without throwing up is incredible. Was he used to it? "Che, I think Uncle just enjoys ruinin' my fun." His voice was suddenly full of irritation._

_The soldier chuckled. "But ya follow his orders regardless."_

_The beast just sighed. "He holds power over me, so I will. Even if some of 'em suck ass."_

_The soldier scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah. Let's head back so ya can get patched up. Don't wanna keep the wife waitin' too long."_

Mikoto sat up in bed, yawning. "What a weird dream. Why'd I have it?" He moved a hand under his shirt and scratched his stomach. He could hear faint chatter coming from the bar. The others are already here? The hell time is it?

After showering and getting dressed, the King went down to the bar. Lancer sensed his Master approach before he even appeared.

He paused his conversation with Saburouta to shoot his Master a grin and wave. "Mornin'!"

It only lasted less than a second, but when Mikoto looked at Lancer, he only saw the man covered in blood, looking like he was caught in a rain of the red substance, and a dark grin was on his lips as he tore into his opponents without mercy, even when the victims begged for their lives. He may be easy to get along with but there was another side to him. That of some kind of monster.

"It's almost noon," Izumo pointed out. "Why'd ya sleep so late?"

"Another bad dream?" Tatara asked.

"No idea. But somethin' tells me I know the cause. Lancer!"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Over here. I need to ask ya somethin'."

"What is it?" The Servant asked as came over. This casual attitude of his, no way the demonic person the King saw was actually him.

"I dreamt of ya on the battlefield. You were wounded, yet still was up for more killin'. And, to put it bluntly, ya looked like a monster. What was that about? I don't think you've ever put that image of you into my head."

"That was a part of my past. Most heroes walk a path stained with blood and I'm certainly no different."

"But why did I see it?"

"Our pact connects us mentally. As such, we can dream about each other's past."

"So you're a monster when you fight?" Rikio asked.

"I was likened to a demon of the battlefield or a hound of war durin' my first life. We Celts are a warrior people, see, so we live for battle. However, I was probably an extreme case even among them. We end up with a shit ton of blood on our hands. And I wouldn't have it any other way." He said it as if it was totally normal.

Misaki looked warily at Lancer. "And you won't kill us if ya, say, get bored?"

The spirit grinned. "And why would I kill my own companions?"

There was a unison of "What?!" from the Clansmen. They had assumed Lancer saw only his Master, Mikoto, that way.

"Wait, you see us as your companions?!" Eric asked.

"Of course! I'm a Servant of the Red Clan, so it's members are all my allies!"

* * *

Sukuna stretched his arms, yawning loudly as he and the Grey King walked to the room replica. "I'm _still_ tired! I can't believe how hard we partied!" The Green Clan had a feast last night to celebrate the summoning of the two Servants.

"I thought you slept with Yukari last night. Where is he?" Tenkei asked. Sukuna had been the first to fall asleep and Yukari, about to fall asleep as well, took the boy to his own room.

"He's busy applying skin care products."

"Now?!"

"He apparently forgot last night."

In the house, the two Servants seemed to appear out of thin air.

Rider raised one hand in greeting. "Good morning!"

Saber was tapping one foot impatiently. "Your Master's here, but where the hell's mine?!"

Sukuna sweatdropped. "You two...Did you two seriously stay up all night?"

"No." Tenkei pointed at Rider. "This guy sat by my bed and quickly began sawing logs. By the time I got up this morning, he was gone." Soon after helping Nagare to bed, Tenkei had passed out drunk and Rider carried the King to bed. He had soon fallen asleep and managed to wake the drunkard up, and the Master stayed awake for about an hour. He had already taken hangover pills for his massive headache.

Sukuna snickered. "A loud snorer? Sounds like how a certain someone else sleeps."

Tenkei didn't seem to care about the opinion. "I am what I am."

"Servants don't need to sleep. Which means," Saber jabbed a finger at Rider, "this guy annoyed you for no reason!"

It was at that time Yukari strolled in. He was wearing an avocado face mask. "Looks like everyone's here except Nagare. Where is he?"

"Did he get that electric wheelchair of his stuck?!" Saber growled.

"You helped him into it, right?" the Grey King asked slowly.

"Oh."

Tenkei sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable...Have you forgotten he's in a straightjacket? Even though his powers allow him to move his wheelchair, he still needs help getting out of bed."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get him." With that, Saber went into spirit form.

"That woman...You'd think she'd take better care of her own Master..." the man in priest's clothing muttered.

A few minutes later, Saber materialized in a dust of blue mana. "Have you guys _seen_ the creepy way Master wakes up?! It's like watchin' a robot turn on! Would it kill him to wake up a little more...naturally?"

"I've helped him out of bed before," Tenkei said. "And so has Yukari."

Nagare rolled into the room. "Saber, can you place your hands on me?"

"Uh, sure Master." The knight walked over and placed her hands on the King's shoulders. "So, care to tell me what the hell's this about?"

"I did not have time to savor it when you got me into my wheelchair, but you have body heat. You're technically dead, so I was under the impression that you would feel cold."

Saber's face went red and she quickly pulled her hands back. "St-stop saying embarrassing things..."

Nagare looked confused. "Huh? I don't recall intending to embarrass you."

Kotosaka was flying circles. "A tsundere! She's a tsundere!"

"How the hell does he even know what that is?!"

Tenkei was the one to respond. "I read him some manga."

"Why would you even do that?!"

"Come on! I'm sure you've picked up on the fact he's smarter than he looks!"

"Mr. Iwa, we're scheduled to meet Ruler at the church in a couple hours."

Tenkei opened a can of beer. "Fine."

"And try to be sober for then."

* * *

When Lancer went into the bar, it was lunchtime. Anna stopped eating and looked up. "Lancer, why don't you try this?" She broke off the untouched end of whatever she was eating ant offered it to the warrior. "Here's a bit."

Lancer took the offered food. "Thanks." He stuck it in his mouth and chewed before swallowing. "It's tasty. What is it?"

"It's called a hotdog."

Lancer's eyes instantly went wide and his face went deathly white.

Tatara noticed this. "Is something wrong?"

"...WHAT DID SHE JUST FEED ME?!" He gagged - was he going to vomit?! - and backed away to the wall at lightning speeds while looking totally freaked out. He was being stared at by everyone.

Shouhei just blinked, confused. "...What is it?"

Lancer still had his fight-or-flight response set to 'flight'. "I can't believe I just ate dog meat!"

Izumo gave Lancer a weird look. "Hah? Dog meat? What're ya talkin' about?"

"The fuckin' hotdog! That's what I'm talkin' about!"

"Yeah, I know. But why do ya think ya just ate dog meat?"

"'cause I just did! It's in the damn name!"

Kousuke spoke up. "...It's not made from dogs."

Lancer seemed to have calmed down, but now he just looked as confused as everyone else. "Huh? It's not? Then what's in it?"

"It's pig meat," Mikoto answered. "Now why did ya freak out when ya thought ya ate dog meat?"

Anna had just glimpsed Lancer's mind. "One of your geasa forbids you from consuming the meat of a dog."

"Geasa? The hell's that?" Misaki asked.

Lancer pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed angrily. "That food's name really shouldn't be so misleadin'...Geasa is plural for geas, which is a curse that binds your soul. Having one can strengthen ya, but you'll suffer a severe punishment if ya break it. I have several."

"Oh," Izumo said. "Are there any other foods ya can't eat?"

"Dog meat aside, I don't have any restrictions to my diet."

* * *

Saber looked at Tenkei. "Hey, can ya toss me a beer?"

Tenkei narrowed his eyes at the Servant. "...Are you even old enough?"

"Of course I am, dumbass! I'm 23!"

Kotosaka cackled. "You got called a dumbass! Dumbass old man!"

Tenkei instantly snapped his glare to the parrot. "Shut up before I serve you as tonight's dinner!" Kotosaka shrunk down, snapping his beak shut. Then the King directed his attention to Saber. "And you! I don't care if you're a Knight Class Servant, you need to show some respect to your elders! No beer for you!"

"Are you serious?!"

Tenkei cracked open his own can of beer. "Of course I am!"

It was then Yukari and Sukuna walked in, holding several shopping bags.

"We're back!" Yukari suddenly fell silent when he sensed the tension in the air. "...What's going on?"

Saber had her arms crossed and looked like she was pouting. "The old man's being stingy."

"What are you gonna do, stage a rebellion like in Camelot?"

"Did you look up my legend?"

"Yeah. Even if you aren't my Servant, I'm still dealing with you on a daily basis."

Sukuna set his bags down on the table. The kid was trying to stay out of this feud. "We got the clothes for both Servants. Saber's were easy enough, but we actually had to create a mission for people to find a store that sells XXXL clothes."

"The selection wasn't that great," Yukari added. "We got him a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt."

"What about for me?" Saber asked.

Yukari grinned. "I think you'll like it a lot. It allows for ease of movement without looking unusual."

The knight's eyes sparkled. "Really?! I'm gonna hurry and try it on!" She grabbed the bag with her clothes and dashed out of the room like a kid with a new toy.

Rider grabbed the bag with his clothes. "I'll try mine on as well. Hopefully they fit."

"I hope so too," Sukuna agreed. "You have no idea how long it took to hunt those down!"

* * *

Reisi was discussing ideas with his Servant in his office.

"We could capture the enemies instead of killing them. That way, we won't have to unnecessarily dirty our hands and we can still win the Grail War."

Chiron's horse tail flicked, lifting the bottom of his SCEPTER 4 jacket a little. "Capturing a Servant is next to impossible. Even should you manage to restrain one, you'll be faced with the issue of how to keep it in containment. The Servant can go into spirit form, which would cause it to be freed of any bindings, even ones to dampen supernatural powers. This is because it's actually from our physiology as spirits. And if, for example, it was kept in one of your prison cells, it could phase through a wall to get free."

Reisi settled his chin in his hands. "You Servants possesses some troublesome abilities."

"I can't exactly disagree with you there."

The King let out a large sigh before leaning back in his chair. "I have some paperwork to take care of. Feel free to explore HQ."

Archer bowed. "As you wish."

Outside, Archer noticed Saruhiko Fushimi, SCEPTER 4's no. 3 talking to another member.

"...Place him in cell 6."

The member saluted before heading off to carry out the order.

"Hello, Mr. Fushimi."

Saruhiko looked to see who the speaker is. "Oh, it's you, Archer. What do you want?"

"I just came to see how you're doing. Fine, I hope." Archer noticed Saruhiko staring at him intently. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't get you."

"Hm?"

"You're more powerful than even our King, yet you don't look down on anyone. In fact, you treat everyone as your equal."

"You people deserve respect for attempting to keep the peace."

Saruhiko shook his head and walked away. "You're so weird..."

Akira Hidaka, a member of the Special Squad, ran up to the centaur soon after Saruhiko went away. This was his day off, so he was wearing his street clothes. "Archer! I was planning on having a get-together in a room of the mens' dorm tonight after dinner with the rest of the Special Squad! You in?"

"Well, that depends if Master needs me for anything."

"That reminds me! Don't tell the Captain or Lieutenant."

"Why?"

"Trust me, just don't."

Archer was confused. Why can't those two be present?

* * *

Mikoto and Lancer stood before a white building. "The church?" Mikoto asked. "Why we here?"

"I scheduled a meeting with Ruler near evening so you can meet her and ask her things about the Grail War I probably don't know," Lancer replied.

"Then let's get this over with." The redhead began walking to the front doors. "Hm?" Mikoto just noticed that his Servant wasn't following. "Don't wanna go in?"

"It's not that. We Servants aren't allowed in the church. I'll just wait out here for ya."

The King huffed. "I think it's a stupid rule, but whatever."

Mikoto entered the building and saw a single woman standing in the center aisle. "Are ya Ruler?"

The woman nodded. "You must be the Red King, Mikoto Suoh. My True Name is Jeanne d'Arc. I exist to watch over the Grail War. I sense your Servant is outside. Good. He's aware that this is a neutral area and that I'm the only Servant allowed in here."

"So ya know a lot about the Grail War?"

"Yes. and you should know that unending despair is all that awaits the survivors."

"Why are ya guys tryin' to make it sound depressin'?"

"Because it is. Not only should you brace yourself for physical horrors, but also psychological ones."

"Whatever. I can handle it. So about the War..?"

"Seven Master-Servant pairs will fight to the death in Tokyo for the Holy Grail, which can grant any wish. This is known as the Holy Grail War."

"I already know all that."

This one is being quite rude. She supposes she should have expected it from one who looks like a thug. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "The seven Servants are Saber, Lancer, Archer, Caster, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker. Every other Master suspects the seven Kings are Masters and you probably do as well. This is correct."

"So who's your Master if ya ain't one of the seven?"

"I'm a Servant able to exist without a Master due to me being a neutral party. As such, I can only oversee the series of battles and fight only when needed to enforce the rules of the War or if an emergency arises."

"There's one thing I don't get. If only Servants can touch the Holy Grail, then why do we need to kill the Masters?"

The holy maiden was looking right into Mikoto's eyes. "Are you capable of killing your Servant?"

Mikoto was silent. He never actually thought of it. Would he be able to take down his own Servant? Lancer's supposed to be more powerful than he is, so probably not likely.

Ruler continued. "Servants are hard to kill, even with another Servant. But they rely on their Masters to exist. If the Master dies, the Servant will die shortly after. They must hurry to find a partnerless Master before then. That's another reason Masters need to be killed, to prevent competition from reentering the War."

That must be what Lancer meant when he said "Your fate shall be my fate".

"Is there anything else?"

"I can't think of anything."

"Well, if you do, contact me."

Mikoto walked out of the church. "Lancer! Where'dja go?!"

"Up here!"

The King looked up. The Servant was relaxing on the roof. "The hell ya up there for?"

"'cause I can."

"Whatever. Come on. Let's go back to the bar."

His feet hit the ground as if he had only jumped down a meter instead of two stories. Did he adjust his internal gravity at the last second or are Servants incapable of hitting the ground hard?

While walking along the sidewalk, the King noticed they were attracting some stares. Mikoto could imagine how strange they must look: two gangster-looking young men, one with bright red hair and the other with bright blue hair.

Some dogs were about to pass them. Mikoto sighed. He knew what was coming next. However, the dogs didn't go into a subservient pose as soon as they got close to Mikoto. They instead seemed to ignore the King and swarmed around Lancer. He grinned and sat on his heels, letting the dogs sniff him. The owners were trying to call their dogs back, but to no avail. Lancer was petting them on the head. It's hard to imagine someone this friendly as some kind of demon.

Lancer then whispered something to the dogs that made them turn and go back to their owners. There was silence for a few moments before Mikoto broke it. "The hell was that?"

"Hm? Whatcha mean?"

"Why were ya super popular with the dogs? They go on their backs if I'm near."

"I have a high compatibility with animals, higher with canines. It probably exceeded the influence ya put on 'em due to your aura."

"For some reason, I'm not surprised."

"Whaddaya mean by that?"

"If I toldja, you'd get angry." Mikoto took out his pack of cigarettes. He was feeling the urge to smoke. He was about to put a stick in his mouth when Lancer spoke up.

"Hey, can I try one of those?"

The King just stared at the Servant. "Ya sure?"

"I won't be in this world that long. I may as well try as much from the modern era that I can."

"Fine." Mikoto bumped up another cigarette, moving the pack over to the knight.

He grabbed the offered cigarette. "Thanks." While Mikoto was putting the pack back in his coat pocket, Lancer put the white stick in his mouth and conjured a small flame on his left index finger.

Mikoto pulled out his lighter. He knows he can light his cigarette using his fire, but it felt comforting not to have to use his power, even for something small like this. He lit his cigarette and was going to light Lancer's, but was surprised to see the Servant's already lit.

"Ya use fire?"

Lancer didn't answer right away. He coughed harshly as he took his first-ever drag of a cigarette. He recovered and tried again, not coughing this time and exhaled smoke. "That and other elements. Ya probably saw from my Personal Skills that I have Rune Magecraft. I have all 18 runes mastered. Different combinations produce different results. The one I used is a fire rune called Ansuz. I can lessen the power of the Ansuz rune by puttin' less magical energy into it."

"Given the name of your class, I thought you were only able to use a spear."

"I'm not a Double Summon, but I'm skilled at magecraft. Lotsa us are good at multiple areas of combat. That's not to say we're masters. Our class container prevents that by lowerin' the level of 'unnecessary' skills. But I have combat talents that allow me to be summoned as a Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, or Berserker. And don't expect to see runes from me that often durin' fights. I find it's 100 times faster to stab someone to death."

* * *

Adolf walked into his apartment room. It had been a long day. He was looking forward to just relaxing.

He froze at the sight that awaited him. Neko was on all fours, arching her back and hissing at Caster like a cat. The Servant was sitting on the other side of the room with her bushy tail over her lap. Amber eyes were narrowed into slits.

"You're the wife?! Over my dead body!"

The fox whipped out a spell tag while snarling at the Strain. Her fox ears were flattened on her head. "I can arrange that."

Adolf had no idea how this started, but it was going to get ugly unless he does something. "Just break it up!"

Both girls looked at him, shocked. They didn't know the King had entered the room. Neko sat down and the seal Caster held dematerialized in a flash of violet. "Sorry..." they mumbled.

The man ran a hand through his hair. "Can someone explain to me how this even started?"

Neko pointed an accusing finger at Caster. "She wants to steal my position!"

Caster returned to glaring at Neko. "All I said was that I'm going to be Master's Good Wife and you got hissy at me."

"I'm the only one allowed to be that close to him! You just focus on being his bodyguard!"

"Don't you dare tell me what to do!"

"But it's only natural since I've been with Addie longer!"

"Like I care!"

The two animal-like girls resumed the stances they took before the Silver King had broken them up. Adolf sighed in defeat.

"Come on...I'm paying for this room..."

* * *

It was night and Akira was leading Archer to a slightly open door of the dorm. "The Captain doesn't check this location, so we should be safe." Inside the room were the other seven members of the Special Squad sitting around a table. "Guys, I've brought Archer!"

Archer was looking around. "I don't see Mr. Fushimi."

"Mr. Fushimi refused to come -"

"I recall him telling you to jump off a cliff," Andy Doumyouji broke in. "I think it's time you gave up on him."

Tatsuya Enomoto sighed. "Seriously, Hidaka. Has he ever come _once_?"

Akira just grinned. "There's a first time for everything!"

"Whatever. The Captain and lieutenant aren't here, right?" Himori Akiyama asked.

"I didn't tell them." Archer sat down at the head of the table. "So why do none of you want to have the Blue King or Ms. Awashima here?"

"The lieutenant always bring a ton of anko and expects us to finish it all," Ren Gotou replied.

"And the Captain's obessed with having us do these 'team-building exercises '," Daiki Fuse added. "I mean, come on! We already work well enough together! He doesn't need to torture us!"

Ryuuhou Kamo had his gaze fixed on Archer. "You're a centaur. So why is the only non-human part of you your horse tail?"

Andy jumped to a standing position. "You have a horse tail?! I didn't notice it yesterday! Can I see it?!"

Yuujirou Benzai covered his ears. "Doumyouji, that was _right_ in my ear..."

Himori sighed. "Try to remember to use your indoor voice, Doumyouji."

"Did someone give him too much sugar?" Daiki was staring right at Ryuuhou when he said that.

"Don't look at me! I had nothing to do with this!"

Tatsuya sighed. "He's just too excitable."

Archer chuckled. "Mr. Doumyouji, you may see it if you'd like." He stood up and puched aside the back end of his SCEPTER 4 jacket.

Andy had stars glittering in his eyes. "Thank you so much!" He dashed over behind the Servant and let his eyes wander over the horse tail. Then the ginger let out a noise.

Akira sweatdropped. "Doumyouji, did you just...squee?"

Ren's expression mirrored Akira's. "I...I think he did..."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "To think he used to be Squad 4's _commander_."

Ryuuhou sighed. "Doumyouji, you're staring too long. What have I told you about that?"

Andy looked embarrassed. "Oh..." He backed up to return to where he was sitting. "Sorry..."

Archer smiled at him. "It's fine."

Yuujirou was looking at Archer. "So why are you taking this form?"

"It's to hide my True Name," the man replied. "There are very few centaur Heroic Spirits. Seeing me as one would give out my identity. This form lowers my parameters, but make it harder to guess my True Name."

"Interesting. What's going on?"

Every Special Squad member simultaneously froze up.

"Ca-Captain! What are you doing here?!" Daiki exclaimed.

Reisi adjusted his glasses. "Archer had not returned for quite some time. I utilized the connection we have through our pact to locate him."

Archer looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, yeah...I forgot to mention that pacted Master-Servant pairs can sense the location of their partner..." He turned to look at Reisi. "How did you find that out? I don't recall mentioning it."

"I saw Ruler this afternoon. She told me."

There was a bang. Everyone saw that Andy had just slammed his forehead onto the surface of the table. "I suddenly hate Master-Servant pacts..."


	3. The First Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third night brings about the first fight.

The next morning, Izumo was talking to Lancer in the bar. Lancer had asked the bartender if there were any available local jobs he could do so that he's not being a freeloader.

"I could offer ya a position here helpin' with the bar when customers come in," Izumo said. "Whaddaya think?"

It sounded ideal since it would mean he won't be too far from his Master. "I'm stayin' here anyway. May as well do it."

Tatara spoke up. "Lancer, I need to talk to you outside. Let's go out the back."

"Alright."

Outside, Tatara shut the door behind the two. After checking to make sure there was no one else around, he spoke up. "Do you have a monster you're fighting with?"

Crimson eyes flicked to Tatara. "...How'dja know?"

"I had a feeling. It would make something you and King have in common."

The Servant's eyes narrowed in thought. "It's called Riastrad. Ya remember me mentionin' I'm able to be summoned as a Berserker? Riastrad is the reason. It make me an even bigger monster and causes me to attack friends and foes. But it only comes out if I get really pissed, which was twice. Other times, I have a tight lid on it. So, Mikoto also has this issue?"

"For him, it's his power. King tries to shut his emotions up so it doesn't go out of control."

"Yeah, too much power can be a monster to deal with. I remember how scary my power as a son of the god, Lugh, was until I learned how to control it. It was really bad since I'm his mortal incarnation. I imagine the red aura's nearly as bad to handle."

"I keep trying to help him deal with his inner demons, but I don't know how much it's helping. But you know kinda what he's going through, so I was thinking maybe you could also talk to him."

"I'll give it a try. But he could get pissed at me for buttin' into his personal business."

"He shouldn't. He'll probably figure out I asked you to do it."

"This is probably none of my business, but I sensed somethin' goin' on between you and Mikoto over my mental link with him. Like ya both are together. Am I wrong? Don't worry. I don't sense anyone."

Tatara took a deep breath. "We probably won't be able to keep it a secret from you, so I'll tell you. You're right. Only Mr. Kusanagi and Anna know, so keep it hidden from everyone else."

"Some people in the Clan who frown on that sorta thing?"

"We don't know. But it's better to be safe than sorry. Lancer, are you interested in King?"

"No. Not in that way. I only view him as my Master, though I hope we become friends."

"Men aren't to your taste?"

"Well, I used to experiment with both sexes, but I chose women in the end. That's why I chose to be married to Emer."

"I don't know that much about your legend, but I know it was really tragic. Do you regret anything about it?"

_Why did this have to happen?!_

_Why did they have to die?!_

_I can't believe I killed them!_

_I should've died instead..._

Lancer hesitated before replying. "...I don't. Nothin' about my first life bothers me." He walked over to Tatara, resting his hand on the young man's light brown hair and a large grin plastered on his face. "I'm fine! Don't go worryin' 'bout me!" The warrior slowly walked back to the bar while cheerfully humming a melody.

"Lancer..." Tatara murmured, looking sadly at the Servant's back. He couldn't read minds like Anna, but even he could tell that carefree attitude was an attempt to conceal something else.

That of a man broken on the inside.

_I...hate myself. So much._

_Father, I beg you._

_Make this pain go away._

_It hurts a lot._

* * *

_"Sir, why was there a copy of_ The Illiad _in my tent?" a solder asked, holding up a worn-looking book._

_Rider quickly snatched the book from the man's hands in a flash. "I've been looking all over for it! You didn't mess with it, did you?" The large man was flipping through the pages. "I was almost at the part where Achilles fights Hector."_

_A man grinned at the king. The way everyone was interacting with Rider, it's like they were chatting with a good friend rather than their ruler. "You really like the story, huh?"_

_"Of course! I'm the descendant of Achilles! It's only natural I learn all I can about my ancestor!"_

_No one tried to argue this. "You've read that how many dozen times now? Aren't you worried that it'll fall apart? It was a gift from Aristotle after all."_

_"Don't bother trying to convince him not to read it anymore," another warrior said. "It's like trying to convince the Danube to dry up. I don't think he'll stop reading it until he's dead."_

_"In any case, please stop misplacing it with my things. I'm trying to travel light and I don't want any extra weight!"_

_"Fine, fine."_

Tenkei opened his eyes. _'A dream from my Servant?'_ He looked at the time on his digital clock on his nightstand. It was still night. He got up and went to his room's minifridge and grabbed a can of beer. He opened and drank from it. On the couch, Rider was snoring away, not a care in the world. He seemed to roughly snot and scratched his belly before resuming his snoring. The King shook his head. This slob really carries the blood of Zeus? Then again, the Master wasn't exactly the best image of a King. He smirked. Maybe the two are alike.

* * *

" _There_ you are!"

Assassin wasn't responding to Daikaku's telepathic order to return, so the King had to go down to the bar to fetch the idiot. The swordsman was currently passed out drunk on the counter with some drool coming out of his opened mouth. A glass directly in front of him had been knocked down onto its side, the liquid contents having already evacuated into a small puddle on the counter.

"Ryoumaaa...Why'dja leave me? Did I do somethin' wrong? I'm sorry if that's what it was..." Assassin grumbled as the old man lifted the drunkard up to carry him on his back. During the entire trip up to the rooftop house, he kept muttering incomprehensible stuff about Sakamoto. The Usagi they passed directed an awkward look at the Servant, the expressions evident even while wearing the rabbit masks.

The Gold King groaned at the man looking lika a hobo on his back. "What am I going to do with you..?" Why'd he get a Servant _he_ needs to look out for. Would this one really be capable of helping him win? This killer's like a child!

In the house, Assassin suddenly threw up on the floor. Some of the mess stained the King's kimono and haori. Daikaku sighed.

"Of course..."

* * *

In the park were Mikoto and Lancer. No one else was present; the two were looking to relax. Birds were soaring the sky, but one in particular caught the knight's attention. Even with such a large distance between them, Lancer was able to tell something was different about that bird. And not just because it was slightly larger than the other ones. He could sense another person there.

"Mikoto," the Celt said stiffly without tearing his narrowed red gaze away from the bird, which he's now sure is a parrot. A familiar? "we should be careful."

"Ha?" The King was unaware of what his Servant noticed. "What for?"

"That bird. It's monitorin' us."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nagare was facing a projection over one of the walls. It showed a scene of the outside from a bird's perspective. It was focused on two people. One had red hair while the other's hair is blue. The one with the blue hair seemed to be glaring right at the Green King.

Tenkei chose this time to walk in. "There you are!" Then he joined the other King in staring at the screen. "...Find something, Nagare?"

"I have found the Red King, Mikoto Suoh, with who I assume is his Servant. It appears as though the Servant has discovered Kotosaka." Nagare looked at the Grey King. "Mr. Iwa, I want you and Rider to fight these two tonight. Aim to kill, but don't be afraid to fall back if necessary."

Tenkei grinned. "Our first fight! A good sample of the Holy Grail War!" Then the realization hit him. "Wait. You won't be joining in?"

"No. Saber and I will be watching the battle through Kotosaka. Even if you have to retreat, we'll hopefully learn the Servant's True Name. I'll give them an invitation."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The parrot dove down to Lancer. The beast still regarded it through narrowed eyes and had even began growling lowly like a distrustful dog.

Mikoto came over. He was also glaring. "Talk before I roast ya. Who are you?"

"Greetings, Red King Mikoto Suoh. I am Green King Nagare Hisui." The bird seemed to be talking without opening its beak.

" _You're_ the Green King?!"

"Mikoto, the speaker isn't here," Lancer said while continuing to glare at the green animal. "I thought this thing was a familiar. But it seems that it's bein' used as a medium."

The parrot cocked its head. "Very good observation, Servant. Indeed, Kotosaka here is being used as my mediator. I'm currently elsewhere."

Lancer crossed his arms. "To get this close to an enemy King and Servant...Whaddaya want?"

"I wish to issue a challenge. You'll be awaited at the Shizume cargo pier tonight."

Mikoto continued to glare. "You're tellin' us this instead of usin' the element of surprise. What's your game?"

"I only wish to observe a part of the game we're all currently playing. I'm not plotting anything else."

Lancer barked a laugh. "You'll only observe? Too chicken to go out and fight yourself?"

"Trying to rile me up? It won't work." The parrot suddenly took off flying. "Remember: tonight at the cargo pier. Both of you are expected to be there."

* * *

Kuroh slid open the door to Ichigen's bedroom. "Master Ichigen, I have a question about -" The King was nowhere to be found. Instead, the view of a completely naked Berserker was what the teen was met with. He went beet red and instantly turned around. "I'm so sorry!" Then he suddenly remembered where he is. "Wait! Why are you naked in Master Ichigen's room?!"

The Servant huffed. Why did it have to be this annoying Clansman? "Husband had to step out for a bit. I'm just waiting for him."

"You're calling him Husband?!"

"Because he's _mine_! I won't let your love for him overpower my own!"

Kuroh facepalmed. "What are you even talking about?! I have a lot of respect for Master Ichigen, but I don't love him in _that_ way!"

The dragon looked surprised. "Wait, you don't?"

"Of course not! Now will you stop trying to murder me when he's not looking?!" He looked over his shoulder to shoot the girl a glare, but snapped his head back when he got a sudden nosebleed. "Gah! Materialize your kimono already!"

* * *

"Lancer and I will be fightin' the Green King and his Servant tonight."

Everyone from the Red Clan was gathered at the bar. They were listening to Mikoto and Lancer.

"Wait, the Green King?!" Misaki demanded. "He went missin' years ago!"

"He's around. He had his parrot invite us to the cargo pier to fight tonight."

Tatara spoke up. "King, are you two really going? This sounds like a trap."

"I know. We talked it over and we'll go."

"Are ya outta your mind?!" Yõ exclaimed. "You might get badly hurt!" It was clear to everyone that he purposely avoided saying "You could die!" He didn't want to think of that possibility and, honestly, neither did anyone else.

Lancer breathed out heavily. "The bar could be attacked if we don't go. This is to keep ya'll safe."

"He might be expectin' ya to leave the bar defenseless," Izumo pointed out.

"We already considered that," Mikoto replied. "You guys'll leave at nightfall. Kusanagi, can Anna stay with you?"

There was a collective shout of "What?!"

The King sighed. "I know ya guys think ya can protect here, but face the facts. It's a King _and_ a Servant. You'll be obliterated in no time."

* * *

The Colorless King had returned. Berserker was currently needing him with questions in an attempt to get to know him better.

"How were you born? How have you lived your life? What's your favorite food? And what's the food you dislike? What's the type of person you like? What's your schedule like every day? Where do you wash first in a shower? What's your height, weight, eyesight, grip strength, speed, endurance, and lung capacity? Have you ever run a marathon? Oh! I forgot one very important thing! Are there any temples that you're acquainted with? If possible, I'd like to hear about them."

Kuroh went pale and a chill went down his spine. "Te-temples?!"

Ichigen remained looking undisturbed. "Why do you wish to know that?"

"It's a secret. Hehehehehehe..."

The teen groaned. "Given how powerful you're supposed to be, that still sounds ominous..."

"No matter how strong

It only takes one slip-up

To be defeated."

Kuroh had stars shining in his eyes as he gazed at Ichigen. "What a beautiful hai -" He suddenly felt heavy killing intent. He slowly looked at Berserker, who had her narrowed yellow eyes fixed on him.

"Berserker..." the King said in a warning tone. The killing intent suddenly went away and Berserker looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Master..." She seemed to shrink down.

"I thought we made up!" Kuroh shouted.

"It was habit, that's all."

"You need to kill that habit..."

* * *

It was nighttime when the Red Clan Master and Servant walked into the cargo pier. But both of them were on edge, two pairs of eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"Where's the enemy?" the redheaded King asked.

"Could it be an Assassin usin' Presence Concealment?" the Servant murmured.

"A Personal Skill?"

"No, a Class Skill. Assassins are pretty weak in combat. Bet ya can win a straight fight 'gainst one even though it's a Servant. But that skill makes 'em frustratin'. It makes it impossible for even Servants to sense 'em nearby. That's why they excel at sneak attacks and strikin' from the shadows."

"Sounds like pain."

Lancer bared his fangs. "Sneaky bastards like that piss me off!" He suddenly looked up. "It's the parrot."

Perched on a storage container was Kotosaka. He cocked his head at them. "I'm glad you two showed up. I was beginning to worry you wouldn't - Saber, please try to calm down. You'll get your turn."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "Is that your Servant with ya, Hisui? I thought ya wanted a sample of this Grail War."

The parrot seemed to cackle. "Yes, but I don't recall saying I'll be fighting."

Strings of lightning rained down. Mikoto and Lancer took defensive stances, awaiting a sudden attack.

A chariot pulled by two bulls came charging to earth from the sky. There were two people in it. One was a large redhead, holding the reins and giving a war cry. The second was a human man who's probably wishing he were anywhere else not on the chariot.

Lancer snarled. "Servant Rider! What's goin' on?! Is the Green King allies with another Master?!"

The chariot hit the ground several meters in front of the two young men. "Good evening, Lancer! I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors!"

No one else spoke or moved. There was only a disbelieving silence. If it wasn't winter, there would only be the sound of crickets chirping.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Saber just stared at the monitor. "Did he seriously...just give out his True Name..?" Her Master and the two Clansmen were silent with disbelief. Kotosaka was probably internally sweatdropping.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Lancer: "What..."

Tenkei: "The..."

Mikoto: "Fuck?!"

The Grey King facepalmed. "Shouting your True Name...What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Rider laughed and clapped his Master on the back so hard the brown-haired man flailed to keep from falling forward. It's a wonder that blow didn't break his spine. "Now, now, don't get upset over something so small!"

"Small?! It's your _True Name_!"

The bearded man picked the smaller King by the back of his mantle like a kitten. "Stop your damn whining."

Tenkei was flailing his limbs everywhere. "Hey! Put me down!"

"So whiny..." Rider grumbled. He jumped out of his chariot, holding a still-complaining Tenkei. The chariot and bulls dispersed in a cloud of blue mana.

The blue Servant grinned. "Heh! Not gonna use your mount?" The clothes on Lancer glowed bright white with mana. Then the mana broke away, revealing Lancer's armor being worn on the Servant instead. This was done without Lancer himself budging. "Don't take me lightly!" Then he remembered the other. "Oh, right!" Lancer gestured to the enemy human. "Mikoto, know who the Master is?"

Mikoto's eyes were narrowed. "He looks like pictures I've seen of the Grey King, Seigo Ootori. But that can't be. Ootori's dead."

"Seigo Ootori is dead. He died in the Kagutsu Incident. My name is Tenkei Iwafune. Call me Mr. Iwa. It's nice to meet'cha." He pulled out a revolver from his priest robe. "I'll make killing you and your Servant as quick and painless as possible." He pointed the gun at the Red Master-Servant pair.

Lancer was grinning, revealing a pair of beast-like canines. "You think you can kill me?" Killing intent so thick that it was almost impossible to even breathe poured out of Lancer. Even Mikoto and Tenkei took a few steps back, sweat rolling down their faces. Anyone not a Servant or King would go running for their lives or would be rendered too afraid to even move in the face of such a powerful ominous aura. "Don't make me laugh!" A two-meter blood-red spear, the legendary cursed spear, Gáe Bolg, appeared out of thin air in his right hand. "You may be a King, but you're just a mere human!"

Tenkei felt a hand on his back and looked to the side. It was Rider. This intimidation tactic wasn't fazing him. He continued to stand firm like a stone wall. "I'll handle the Servant. You deal with the Master." He pulled out his sword and jumped at Lancer, meeting the wolf's strike.

"Ya idiot!"

The two weapons clashed with red and white-blue bolts of magical energy and apparently had enough power to cause some damage. The ground beneath both Servants shattered as if a wrecking ball hit it and the shockwave that was created alone absolutely destroyed some containers behind the two in an instant and tore into others. If Rider's attacks were likened to divine lightning, then opposing it would be scarlet wind.

A ferocious volley of thrusts came from the one wielding the demonic spear, each strike running like a flash of light. Lancer was really reminding Mikoto of a wild beast. But Rider was able to react fast enough to block them all with his sword. The attacks were so intense and swift that anyone who came too close the this clash would end up instantly cut to pieces.

Bolts of lightning came down from the heavens to strike to knight, but his Magic Resistance took out some, the bolts dispersing into nothingness as soon as they hit a translucent blue dome around the Servant. Others were weakened so much they were easily ignorable.

So this is a battle between Servants?! This was like watching a serious fight between Kings!

Servants are classified as familiars, but aren't like normal ones. Familiars are normally a mascot running errands for their masters, are obedient to them, and are not stronger than them. Servants are different. They are the the highest rank familiar, the ultimate warriors that have killed dragons and gods, ones not even the sorcerers, which there are only five of, can hope to control, nevermind the Kings. This is because they're beings far beyond magic. The fact the Holy Grail is making this impossible feat possible proves the almighty power it holds.

Unfortunately, even the Holy Grail has its limits. It doesn't have the Authority to summon a full Heroic Spirit, so an inferior copy of the Heroic Spirit is what it's able to summon instead. Even so, they are still existences that are able to prove more powerful than even a King, one of the strongest living beings.

They are on the same level as holy spirits. In that way, they can be likened to angels or demons. The class container, created by the Grail, that they're in is what allows them to take form, as well as giving them a temporary name. They can only be summoned into one of these seven classes if the Heroic Spirit displays the necessary characteristics.

Knight of the sword, Saber.

Knight of the spear, Lancer.

Knight of the bow, Archer.

Mounter warrior, Rider.

Mad warrior, Berserker.

Magus, Caster.

Silent killer, Assassin.

These legendary heroes, under the command of seven chosen Masters will fight to the death in a series of battles to determine who's worthy of the omnipotent wish-granting challice. This is the Holy Grail War.

Rider thought the speed of his opponent's attacks wouldn't be that great. He was wrong.

"..!"

The redheaded Servant grunted as these vicious attacks the beast was delivering forced him back a couple steps. He was becoming overpowered. He had underestimated the other Servant by dematerializing Gordius Wheel. The speed of the thrusts kept increasing without end, leaving absolutely no time for breathing between strikes, let alone time to counterattack. 10 blows delivered by the feral blue wolf a second. No, more than that. The movements were almost to the point where they were invisible to even his eyes. The fact the king was still able to block them with his sword is itself amazing.

Mikoto just stood there staring at this battle. He was captivated at these two inhuman beings moving at speeds no one he knows of could match. Raging winds from the weapons filled the entire cargo pier. The cocking of a gun got the young man's attention, bringing him back to the fact there was another enemy present.

"It's time to get busy as well, Suoh. I don't want my Servant hogging all the glory."

Two giant masses of energy in the form of a couple of swords, each called a Sword of Damocles, materialized in the air above the two Kings. The red one belongs to Mikoto while the grey one belongs to Tenkei. Tenkei's was in perfect form while Mikoto's showed only a few pieces having broken away. Exceeding his limit, called a Weismann level, would cause his Sword to fall, killing him and causing destruction equal to an Anti-City Noble Phantasm. Even though his showed some damage, he should last a year as long as he doesn't push himself, given he continues to fight as a King.

Just then, the weapons of both Servants clashed harder than before and the fighters jumped back by their Masters in a shower of sparks.

Chilling fog filled the area. Lancer was looking around wildly. Everything around him was growing hazy. "The hell's this?! A bounded field?!"

Mikoto grit his teeth. He had learned about this ability of the Grey King. "This has to be Iwafune's Fog Sanctum!"

Lancer's nose twitched. He must have a heightened sense of smell like a dog. "All scents within have vanished. Know how to counter it?"

"I don't."

Lancer moved closer to his Master. "Both enemies are invisible." The kight didn't like this shit one bit. He suddenly blocked a strike from Rider, who had just burst out of the fog to strike the other Servant head on. The wolf smirked. "I thought ya were Rider and not Assassin. Are sneak attacks your thing?"

While Rider wasn't on board with this cowardly method of fighting, he ignored it since his Master rode out to battle at his Servant's side. So the taunt didn't bother him. "This is how my Master wishes to fight. But I'll take you on fairly."

"You can fight him, Lancer," Mikoto said. "I'll deal with Iwafune."

The blue Servant looked at first like he was about to protest about leaving his Master alone to fight a hidden enemy, but he swallowed it down. "...Very well." Lancer and Rider moved their fight several meters away.

Mikoto got himself ready to fight in such a disadvantageous position. "Alright. Come get me!"

A bullet was fired at the Red King from his right. He moved his head in time, but the projectile still caused a couple strands of red hair to fly off. His amber gaze quickly flicked to where the attack came from, but all he could see was fog. His gaze moved forward again. The redhead braced himself for the next attack.

"I'm just a coward."

Mikoto continued to stare straight ahead. The fact the enemy King was using such a cheap trick proved the label. "If you're a coward, then why are ya riskin' your life? Ya could just sit it out."

"I was chosen as a Master, wasn't I? I should at least act the part."

Mikoto quickly moved his head to the side to avoid an incoming bullet that came from in front of him. He immediately launched fire in the direction the attack came from, but it only ended up tearing apart a couple containers.

"Where were you even aiming?" However, the Grey King couldn't get closer unless he wanted a one-sided beatdown courtesy of the Red King.

Blood-red eyes swiftly glanced at the Red King then went back to front as Lancer had to parry yet another sword swing from Rider. Instincts were screaming at Lancer to go to his Master's side, but he couldn't do that while trying to hold back Rider's attacks. The urge got even stronger when heard another gunshot. At least Mikoto was a King fighting just one King. He should be able to hold out.

Rider seemed to sense Lancer's concerns. "Worried about your Master?"

Lancer snarled in response. "Course I am!" He slashed sideways and Rider jumped back.

A bullet charged with grey aura shot out of the fog and flew right at Lancer's head from behind. Tenkei decided to take out the Servant since he was currently focused on Rider. Plus, he was getting nowhere with the Red King. Even in this fog, that gangster kept managing to evade all his attacks!

The beast's head turned to where the killing intent he sensed was coming from. Even though it was in the fog as well, there was a sudden surge of it coming from behind. The image of Tenkei holding his pistol with smoke coming out of the barrel materialized. As soon as the bullet was about to touch his skin, harsh winds came from Lancer's body and succeeded in knocking the bullet away.

Tenkei stared in shock. "What?!"

The war hound grinned and turned his entire body right at the King. "Sorry to say this, but I possess the skill Protection From Arrows. Projectile attacks are useless on me."

Lightning rained down. "You shouldn't forget about me!"

"Course I haven't!" Gáe Bolg was swung with both hands, meeting Rider's sword which had been aimed for his neck. Bolts of crimson lighting sprung from the spear. The clash was strong enough to disperse the fog and to knock Tenkei and Mikoto onto the ground.

Rider glanced at Tenkei. "My bad."

Tenkei tsked. More of his fog was being produced. But if those two monsters are able to disperse it just like that, then it's pretty much useless. And it's clear that Rider's being overwhelmed. He'll need to come up with a new plan.

_'Rider. It's time to fall back.'_

_'Ugh, I'm loathe to admit it, but you're right. I decided to go easy and I was pushed into a corner.'_

The Grey King whipped his right arm out at Lancer, his fog blinding the knight for a second. Mikoto had charged at Tenkei, but a rain of lightning stopped his advance. A storage container was sent flying through the air at the Celt. He dematerialized his spear and grabbed it with both hands, making it suddenly halt as the spearman held it a little off the ground. There were a pair of moos. Rider had summoned his chariot and he and his Master got on. The vehicle was now taking them away through the sky in retreat.

"Are ya runnin'?!" Mikoto shouted.

Tenkei glanced back over his shoulder at the Red King and smirked. "We may have bitten off more than we can chew. But don't let it get to your head. This was only the first encounter. We'll be more prepared next time. I know it's not midnight yet, but have a Merry Christmas!" For some reason, that sounded sinister.

"Fuckin' cowards!" With that roar, Lancer hurled the container - weighing five tons _when_ _empty_ \- at Rider and the Grey King with one arm like he was throwing a javelin. It missed the chariot just barely and soared through the air several dozen kilometers before landing somewhere with a bang. Lancer tsked and turned to his Master. "Are ya hurt, Mikoto?"

The King huffed, glaring in the direction Tenkei and Rider took off. "I'm fine."

"I was actually holdin' back. Since that was my first battle with him, I didn't wanna give out too much about how I fight. I imagine he was also holdin' back."

Mikoto turned his head to his Servant. "That was both of you pullin' your punches?"

"Hey, ya also held back! Hey, Mikoto? There's somethin' you should know. There's actually a limit to Protection From Arrows. At its rankin', it only worked 'cause I saw the Grey King when the bullet was shot at me. If I hadn't seen him in that split second, I would've had to block it with my spear."

Mikoto glanced at the massive amount of red he was seeing on the bare part of Lancer's right arm. That's when he noticed a large wound down into a quarter of the arm. Blood was already dripping from the tips of his fingers.

"Seems Rider injured ya."

The King pointed at the cut. Lancer looked down at it with an almost bored expression. "Oh. That's all? I didn't even feel this scratch."

"We should hurry to get it treated." The bone itself was even showing.

"Don't bother. Servants have accelerated healin'. Since there's nothin' wrong with my mana, I'd give it around twenty minutes to close."

"So no first-aid?"

"Bandage it to prevent my blood from gettin' all over wherever I walk. I can only dematerialize blood on my body."

"I didn't know ya guys can heal fast."

"How fast we can heal depends on the severity of the injury and the amount of mana we have."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You seriously retreated?!" Saber demanded as soon as the Master and Servant showed up at base. "If I was out there, I would've killed those two no problem!"

"Why weren't you?" Rider retorted.

"I had to stay back to defend my Master in case this place came under attack. Besides, my Master promised that if I remained here, the next Servant we fight would be all mine and _you'll_ stay here!"

Tenkei sweatdropped. "...You've managed to put a leash on her," he said to Nagare.

"Everything aside, I can't believe you yelled your True Name," Sukuna said after walking up to the massive king. "Aren't those a Servant's biggest secret or something?"

Saber narrowed her eyes at Rider. "Yeah, why did you do something so stupid?"

"No king should be troubled by giving their name to those they wish to challenge. I'm sure your father was the same."

"My father has nothing to do with this!"


	4. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During this holiday, more about the Masters and Servants is learned. And there is the first glimpse of the end.

_She was enduring a rain of arrows in the fields of Nasu. She refused to flee even though so much blood was streaming down from every wound those arrows made. The ones firing were the ones she gave up being Amaterasu to be like. And now they were shouting to kill the demon fox._

_Why is this happening?_

_I just wanted to love humans._

_And now they want me dead._

_"I never meant to trick anyone!" But her cry fell on deaf ears and the assault continued._ _Tears were falling from her eyes. She covered them with her hands and allowed her knees to buckle._

_"I only wanted to learn what it's like to love..."_

Neko stretched and gave a massive yawn. She blearily notice Adolf was still asleep. But she heard someone in the kitchen area. She walked over.

"Caster? What are you doing? Are you going to cook something yummy?"

The Servant was standing before the stove. Her blue ribbon was tying her pink hair up more. "Christmas breakfast. Neko, do you know what Adolf likes to eat the most?"

"Any rice dish will do. But I also want to help with Addie's food. I can't help with the cooking, but I'll fetch anything you need."

Caster was pouting at the frying pan on the stove. "I already checked to see what he has, but it's not much. I wanted to have him try some of my Kyoto Cooking."

"I'm sure he'll eat whatever you make."

"Ugh...Fine. I'll make do. Neko, find the cutting board for me."

"Hm? What for?"

"I need to cut up some onions."

"No!" Neko exclaimed. But she made sure to keep it quiet so she doesn't wake Adolf. "No onions!"

Caster looked surprised. "Why not? Is Adolf alergic?"

Neko shook her head. "No, but they're poisonous to me."

"I'll leave out onions. I'll make breaded shrimp instead. Does that work?"

Neko's mouth was watering a little and vigorously nodded her head. "Of course it does!"

Adolf, meanwhile, was listening to the conversation while pretending to sleep. The feeling of tears in his eyes caused him to wake up. He was glad that Caster was being accepted.

* * *

Mikoto and Lancer were drinking together at the counter of a bar. Homra was closed for Christmas, so Lancer was going to start work there tomorrow. Mikoto was having the Red Clan bar be charged for the drinks instead of paying himself, but whatever. Izumo was fine with it before. So he shouldn't complain now.

"The biggest issue will be the Silver King. He's supposed to be immortal. But your spear's curse of death should be able to kill him," Mikoto said to Lancer. They were talking about who to be concerned with most. Lancer said the other two Knight Class Servants, Saber and Archer, while Mikoto said the Silver King with the Gold King second.

"As long as he has a source of life, I'll take him down."

"Good."

Lancer got another drink. The wolf's head on his necklace clinked on his glass a little when he lifted the cup. Mikoto glanced at the silver ornament. "You must like that necklace a lot. I've never seen ya not wearin' it."

"This thing? It's more like a habit now. It's supposed to be a good-luck charm." He let out a bitter chuckle. "It didn't exactly help me avoid destiny."

"Huh?"

He took a drink. "Mikoto, you're talkin' to a guy who found himself unable to fight fate durin' his first life. That's why I have shitty Luck. I'm just a hound who wants to be in a pack again, no one else special. That's why I enjoy bein' part of HOMRA."

"HOMRA's actually the reason I'm fightin'. A Red King is like a bomb with a timer. The previous Red King, Genji Kagutsu, let his powers run wild, killin' him and 700,000 people. Someday, I'll end up killin' my Clansmen. I don't think ceasin' to fight as King will stop the urge to destroy. That's why I need the Grail, so I no longer hafta be King."

Lancer was grinning. "I think ya make a great King!"

"How do ya know? Ya haven't been my Servant that long."

"I can sense good charisma from ya. That might be why people easily look up to ya as their leader."

"I think it's more like they're too stupid to stop bein' around me. I once talked 'bout disbandin' HOMRA and Totsuka tried to convince me not to do it. But I want him to leave most of all. He's been lucky so far, but he'll wind up dead from bein' around me."

"Yeah, but it's also true that he's kept your power from overtakin' ya."

"It's still only a matter of time."

"You're a great guy, so I really am grateful to have a Master like you."

"Whatever." He tried to sound like he doesn't care, but Lancer saw the faint blush on Mikoto's cheeks at the compliment.

The bell rung as the front door opened. A large redhead and a blond girl walked in. The King recognized the first as Servant Rider but didn't know who the other is. The large spirit's red eyes met Lancer's own. Mikoto was expecting a fight to break out. The redhead was surprised to see both Servants grinning at each other, like they were friends instead of enemies in the War.

Lancer was waving. "Yo! Didn't expect to see ya, buddy!"

Rider was coming over. "Same here!"

"Your Master didn't wanna join in?"

"He wanted to go shopping and let me do whatever as long as I don't leave this district. He can contact me telepathically if he's in danger and needs my help." He plopped down in an empty barstool next to the warrior. It gave a groan of protest at the massive amount of weight it suddenly had to withstand. He then placed a drink order with the bartender, who was briefly shocked at seeing a man over two meters tall.

Lancer looked at the green-eyed girl who sat down in a barstool next to Rider. She was being silent aside from placing her own drink order. "She also a Servant?"

"Yeah. She's Saber."

Mikoto narrowed his eyes. "She's Hisui's Servant, huh? Why's she here?"

Saber shot the King a glare. "I'm to make sure Rider doesn't do anything stupid. Is that not allowed?"

"No. So ya aren't here to fight?"

"One, it's daytime. Two, there are too many commoners present who'd get caught in the crossfire. We'll play nice with you two."

"Then we will as well. Looks like Lancer's doin' it already. A little hard to believe they were fightin' last night."

"There's something I wanted to mention first, Lancer," Rider said.

"Hm? What is it?"

"You inflicted a wound on my shoulder last night. I found it strange that it wouldn't close, but I thought it would the next day. But it remained open. You wield a demonic red spear crafted from a bone of the sea monster, Coinchenn, that inflicts unhealable wounds. After the witch, Scáthach, the one who uses it is the son of the sun god, Lugh. Your True Name is Cú Chulainn."

Saber just stared at Lancer. " _He's_ the Child of Light?!" Then she glared at Rider. "Why didn't you say this sooner?!"

Rider gave a nervous laugh. "I only put the pieces together when we walked in."

Saber released an angry sigh. "You're unreal..."

Lancer took a drink. "It's impressive ya figured out who I am from only a cursed injury. I guess you ancient kings can be really smart."

The large man blinked at the wolf in confusion. "Isn't your father also a king?"

"Yeah, but we only met once. It wasn't long enough to get a 'smart guy' vibe from him." Then he sighed. "Look, I, unfortunately, missed your spirit core. So ya can stop bein' a baby 'bout it."

Rider chuckled. "I'm not complaining about the injury. I'm only saying it gave out your True Name. And there were other things that told me who you are. You're skilled with a spear. And you have beast-like agility."

Lancer smirked. "Flattery won't stop me from kickin' your ass next time we fight. I know how I died, but I'm in a state where none of my geasa have been broken. So you'd better watch out or you'll die!"

Rider gave a hearty laugh, clearly not bothered by the threat. "You don't need to tell me the obvious! I have every intention of making you submit to me!"

"Oh? Interested in having me serve ya?"

"You're a Heroic Spirit! So of course I want you in my army! But you'll need to abandon the Holy Grail."

"Sorry, but I won't give up on my Master so easily." He shot the massive king a scathing glare. "Don't take the loyalty of a Red Branch Knight lightly!"

Rider scratched his beard. "*sigh* I see your point, but you're the second Servant to reject my offer. Saber's response was an outright refusal."

"And it was a good thing, too!" Saber put in. "Why would I wanna follow you?! Especially seeing as how you got your ass kicked last night!"

"Hey, I fell back so it's a stalemate!" the king pointed out. Then he grinned at Lancer. "Though I'd like to pick up where we left off to determine a winner."

"You need to wait until I get to have a crack at a Servant," the blond reminded him.

Rider's face fell. "Oh, right..." The bartender handed him his whisky. That's when Lancer got an idea.

"We'll settle the outcome of our fight with a drinkin' contest!"

Rider glanced at him. "Hm?"

"Yeah! The one to collapse first will be the loser of our skirmish!"

The larger spirit resumed ginning. "You're on!"

Saber facepalmed. "Seriously?!" Then she looked at Mikoto. "Hey, King! Are ya okay with your idiot getting hammered?!"

"Huh?"

"You were too busy drinking bourbon to listen?!"

"Is somethin' goin' on?"

"These dumbasses are gonna have a drinking contest!"

"Oh..." Mikoto waved down the bartender to get another bourbon. "Good for them."

"You don't care about your own Servant getting too drunk to stand?!"

The two male Servants emptied their first shot. "I'm sure he can handle it."

"It's 130 proof!"

"Eh, still don't care. As long as he leaves the bar in one piece, he can do whatever."

"Talk about not having a care in the world..."

**8 drinks later**

Mikoto glanced at the shot glasses that had collected. "You done yet?"

Lancer grinned. "Not even close!"

**5 drinks later**

The two Servants were clearly getting tipsy now, but neither was about to be defeated. Saber had given up on trying to stop Rider from the fact he was going to make himself look like an idiot and chose to instead drink her martini, muttering "You'd better win, idiot Rider."

**10 drinks later**

"I think both of ya will collapse from total kidney failure..." Mikoto mumbled. He was honestly amazed at how many drinks had been downed by the two Servants at this point. But what was even more amazing was the fact they were still going. Servants must have a high alcohol tolerance. Of course, both were drunk now.

"I'm...unbeatable..." Rider slurred. "The King...of Conkers can never be van...Uh...I forgot..."

Lancer was doing his best to glare. "The battles I've been through...This is easy."

"Just stop, Lancer," Mikoto said when he caught his Servant's clumsy attempt to peek under the skirt of a passing waitress with him almost falling out of his chair while doing so. He was already aware of the young man's creepy tendencies, but they were subtle in normal situations. The woman gave the knight a dirty look and hurried away.

Saber sighed. This is probably nearly over. _'Mr. Iwa. You should get here soon.'_

_'Why?'_

_'Just do it.'_

**3 drinks later**

THUD!

Rider's head hit the table. Lancer was trying hard not to fall out of his chair. A little later, Tenkei walked in.

"You got drunk without me?!" he exclaimed the second he saw Rider, who was reeking of alcohol and moaning something incomprehensible.

"Is that really all you have to say?!" Saber demanded. "It's _your_ Servant who's passed out!"

"At least he had fun." Tenkei went up to bartender and had Rider and Saber's drinks charged to JUNGLE's account. Then he glanced at the Red King, who was grabbing his own bill. "Suoh."

"Iwafune." The response was curt.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not only daytime but also Christmas. We should play nice with each other for today."

Mikoto gave him a cynical grin. "Aw, not in a fightin' mood?"

Tenkei met his gaze with a glare. "You really want to do this?"

Then Mikoto chuckled. "I'm just messin' with ya. 'Sides, our Servants aren't exactly in any condition to do battle."

Saber had her hands on Rider's shoulders. "I can handle his weight, but I also need you to pretend to carry him, Mr. Iwa."

The Grey King was still glaring at the Red King. "Alright." He went over to where Saber had just effortlessly lifted Rider into a standing position. Tenkei pretended to help Rider out the door, the Servant being carried between him and Saber but with the woman supporting the spirit's weight.

Mikoto went over to his own Servant. "C'mon, Lancer. It's time to go."

"Go? T'somewhere fun?"

He was helping the demigod walk. This spirit's breath reeked. "Sure, whatever." Then he sighed. A powerful badass...reduced to a drunken state. Almost hard to believe it was him fighting like a demon last night.

"Ya wanna be my best friend? Caref'l...I killed the one I had in Ireland...Might kill ya too."

Wait, he's killed his best friend?! You'd think he'd at least tell his own Master about that before now. Or...does it weigh so heavily on his consciousness that he doesn't even want to clue it to his own partner while sober?

Mikoto was in front of Homra when Lancer spoke up again.

"Huh? Where we now?"

"Home."

"Uh oh. Forgot it was my turn t'do laundry. Don't let Scáthach know..."

"Wasn't that a name of someone from his past? Is he even aware of what time period he's in?" Mikoto opened the bar's front door and walked in.

"You two have fun?" Even though that question was directed at both young men, Izumo's eyes were fixed on Lancer.

"We went to a bar. I had a normal amount of alcohol. Lancer, on the other hand..."

"Highway to the danger zone!"

Izumo facepalmed. "How does he even know that song..? Actually, nevermind. So, how did _that_ happen?"

"We ran into Servants Saber and Rider in the bar. Lancer and Rider engaged in a drinkin' contest. Lancer won, but..."

"Wait, ya encountered _Servants_?!"

"There was no fightin' 'cause it's daytime. I'm gonna get him in my bed." Mikoto handed Izumo a paper. "Here's the bill for what Lancer drank."

"Alright." As soon as Izumo grabbed the paper, Mikoto hurried to the stairs. He was halfway up them when he heard Izumo scream "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Mikoto was about to enter his room when Tatara came out of Anna's. "Huh? Why you up here?"

"Anna wanted to show me something in her room." Then he took notice of Lancer. "What happened there?"

"Drinkin' contest. He's gonna have a major hangover. Gonna get him in my bed."

"I'll help." He ran over and began to support the spirit from the other side. Both of them managed to get Lancer in the room and on the bed - he was too far gone to even try walking now, making him dead weight. Mikoto removed the Servant's black jacket, black shoes, and necklace. The hoop earrings looked too small to catch onto anything. He also pulled off the hairtie holding together the blue hair that went to the bottoms of his shoulderblades. This would make it easier for the demigod to sleep.

He set a wastebasket down by the bed. "Use this if ya hafta throw up."

Lancer was wearing a goofy grin. "Thanks...You're a real good friend, y'know?"

Mikoto smiled a little. "Yeah, yeah. Just get some sleep." He helped the drunk knight lay down.

"'Night, Daddy."

Mikoto started then glared at Tatara on the couch, who broke out laughing. "Shut. Up."

"Sorry, sorry. Just never thought you'd get called that directly."

Mikoto grumbled something before plopping down on the couch next to Tatara. "I can't believe he's actually a prince. He sure doesn't give off that impression. But I guess I'm not really one to talk."

"He's royalty?!"

"Apparently his father's a king."

Right then, Lancer shifted in his sleep with a murmur. "Don'tcha touch my steak, Láeg..." He said a few words more, but in Gaelic. The tone suggested he was saying a threat.

"What the fuck language is he even speakin'?!"

"Probably his native language."

Now Lancer was slurring his words so much that it'd be impossible to know what he was saying, regardless or whether or not the language could be understood.

The Red King groaned. "I can't believe how pathetic he can be!"

Tatara giggled. "You say that, but you see him as a good companion instead of just your Servant, don't you?"

Mikoto turned his head away in an effort to hide his embarrassment. "Shut up."

"You feel better about being partnered with him since he'd be able to kill you if you lose control."

Mikoto chuckled. "I think you're onto somethin'. Hopefully I'll win the damn cup before then and stop bein' King."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_She had looked up to the king. She wanted to be just like him. This desire grew stronger when Morgause revealed Arthur is her father. She joined the Knights of the Round Table and would be more than happy to carry out any request, all to gain Arthur's respect._

_However..._

_"Why won't you acknowledge me as your son?! Why do you refuse to relinquish the throne to me?!"_

_She had revealed herself to him. But he refused to see her as the next king._

_She finally got an answer from him at Camlann, while he was driving a lance through her body._

_"The reason is that you never had the qualities to be king."_

_"Fa-Father..." She held out her arms to be embraced by her father for the very first, and last, time. But it never happened. So she stabbed him with Clarent with the last of her strength. In an effort to take him with her._

Nagare opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep while in his wheelchair.

"So that was a dream of my Servant's past, huh?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Saber lugged Rider into the elevator of a parking garage. "Stupid drunk..." Rider's head hit a wall of the elevator. "Oops." She didn't sound sorry at all.

Tenkei glanced at Saber out of the corner of his eye but didn't say anything as he took out a key, sticking it in a keyhole of the control panel and turning it. The elevator went down to the lowest level. At another door, he had the panel there scan his PDA. It opened to the water storage when it registered that he's a J-rank member of JUNGLE, the highest rank in the Green Clan.

"What happened to Rider?!" Sukuna demanded once the King and the two Servants reached the room.

"He had a little too much to drink," Tenkei replied.

Saber scoffed. "More like 10 too many."

"Isn't passing out drunk Mr. Iwa's job?" Yukari asked.

"That's what I thought," Saber said. Then she looked at Tenkei. "Where ya want him?"

"Just put him on my bed."

"Fine."

"And be gentle about it!"

"Whatever. You aren't my Master."

"She's like a rebellious child," Tenkei grumbled when Saber hauled Rider out of sight. "But I guess she's used to rebelling against authority."

"You actually don't hold authority over her," Yukari reminded him. "That'd be Nagare."

"You've been defending her a lot lately." Yukari and Saber seemed to get along well. It may be because both of them betrayed their leader.

"I was stating a fact."

Kotosaka spread his wings. "Caw! You like Saber! Caw!"

Saber materialized in the room. "My ears are burnin'. Is someone talking about me?"

Sukuna plopped down in front of the T.V. "Just about how I got this new video game and you might want to play it as well."'

The knight grinned. "Really? I wish you said something sooner!"

"Don't get too absorbed," Tenkei said sternly. "We'll be eating in a half hour."

Saber chuckled. "That reminds me of whenever Gawain was on cooking duty. I told him like a million times to take cooking lessons. I mean, how the hell do ya burn water?!"

Nagare blinked in surprise. "Oh? You have bad things to say about a Knight of the Round Table?"

"Gawain isn't the only one I have issues with. Galahad was just a bastard with a shield and had serious daddy issues."

"You also had pretty bad daddy issues," Tenkei pointed out.

"Shut up."

"Were there any you liked?" Nagare asked.

"Well, I was okay with my half brother, Agravain. He's pretty cold, but at least he didn't piss me off."

"There's another thing I need to ask. What do you wish for?"

Saber looked away from the T.V. at her Master. "Huh?"

"Like Masters, Servants are fighting to get a wish granted. So why do you fight?"

"I want to pull Caliburn from the stone. I think it's the only way for Father to acknowledge me as king."

Nagare thought about his dream about his Servant, how all Saber wanted was her father to notice her. But he - actually, Nagare's sure that was a female - never really did. "I see..."

"So you want to be king," Yukari murmured.

"I know that it's in my right to be one. But Father refused to see it."

Sukuna spoke up. "Saber, you're being surrounded."

She returned her focus back to the T.V. "Shit!"

* * *

The Gold King slid open the door to the room he and his Servant were in. A chalk eraser suddenly hit the top of Daikaku's head an clattered onto the ground. Assassin was laughing loudly while pointing at the Gold King. "I can't believe ya fell for that!"

Daikaku sighed and picked up the eraser. "I can't believe you set up such an immature prank."

"I got bored. Sue me. I'm resortin' to playin' with my goddamn scarf! Do ya have modern clothes for me yet so I can go into the city?"

"Yes. Just remember -"

"Yeah, yeah. No killin' durin' the day."

"And a couple Usagi will be there to keep an eye on you."

* * *

Anna popped out and rushed to Mikoto's side as soon as he and Tatara left the room. She looked around. "Where's Lancer?"

"I put him to bed," was Mikoto's reply.

"Did something happen to him?"

"He became like King after a bad day," Tatara answered.

Mikoto let out a growl. "Shut up."

Once they emerged into the bar, Izumo looked up. "Were ya able to pour Lancer into bed?"

"He's sleepin'," Mikoto replied. He took out a cigarette and lit it while sitting down in a bar stool.

"Considerin' what he drank and how much, he might be out for awhile."

"Yeah, I already figured that," Mikoto said while waving dismissively.

"Mikoto, ya should look up your Servant's legend. It might help ya better understand him."

"Hm?"

"Ya don't know much 'bout his past. He may have some things weighing him down. This'll stop ya from sayin' the wrong things to him."

Mikoto's mind went to Lancer's comment. "When I was takin' him back here, he said he killed his best friend."

"Ah, Ferdiad. I believe it was durin' a war with the nation of Connacht. I unfortunately don't know the details 'bout it."

"I'll ask Lancer 'bout it when he wakes up."

"Ya sure? It might be uncomfortable for him to talk about it."

Mikoto had already guessed that from the fact the demigod hasn't mentioned it before. "Somethin' like that, I feel I need to know more right away. I'll go ahead and read his legend. If I get the answer before he wakes up, I won't ask him."

* * *

Archer wandered into the horse enclosure. He hadn't seen it yet. Garland was hanging all over the stables. Andy was by one of the horses, giving it food. But something seemed to be upsetting him. The young man was grumbling angrily and he was shooting the horse downright irritated glares. The only words the centaur could make out were "stupid horse!"

"Is something wrong?"

Andy looked at the Servant. However, his irritation was still present. And it was directed at the horse he was tending to. "Archer!"

Archer came over to stand by the ginger. "Do horses bother you?" He glanced at the horse when he asked that.

The Special Squad member grit his teeth. "No. I'm okay with them. I'm on duty to take care of _this_ thing today."

"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say you have some personal grudge against this one?"

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Yes...I can sense a lot of anger coming from you. So what did...I'm sorry, but what's its name?"

"White Bean Tofu Stew."

Archer just blinked. "...Come again? I'm afraid I must have misheard you. It sounded like you said White Bean Tofu Stew."

"You heard me correctly," Andy snarled. His eyes flicked to the horse. "That's what I'll turn it into one of these days!"

There was an awkward pause from Archer. He decided not to even bother asking the reason for that name. "And where is all your animosity coming from?"

"This menace kicked me in the face, not once, but three times!" He gave the horse a glare strong enough that it alone should have been enough to kill it and it seemed to shrink down. "The name the Reds gave it was better. Right, Basashi?"

Archer rubbed the back of his neck. "It seems to continually be the victim of some dark food-related jokes..."

Andy continued staring the poor animal down. "The evil thing deserves it!"

A flash of silver flew out at Archer. It hit his upper right arm, but bounced off without damaging anything. It was like it made impact with a steel wall.

"I had my doubts, but it looks like you guys really are immune to normal attacks."

Saruhiko was casually walking in with a smirk on his face.

"Mr. Fushimi, what do you think you're doing?!" Andy demanded, giving the young man in glasses a nasty glare. Archer was just looking at the black-haired Clansman with a neutral expression on his face.

"Ooh, that's a good look, Doumyouji. You should give it to the enemies more often!"

"You're attacking an ally?!"

Archer spoke up. "I knew that attack was aimed at me, but I let it hit since I could sense it wouldn't be able to damage me. Besides, I didn't sense any intention to harm." He picked up the knife and handed it to the young man. "Here's your weapon back. It looks like it was chipped a little."

Saruhiko tsked. "You Servants truly annoy me."

"Huh?!" Andy exclaimed. "Archer annoys you?! How?!"

"I used to be most annoyed by Kings. They might act all nice. But they're fully aware of the fact they're more powerful than other humans and so they look down on us. And now we have the Servants."

"But Archer isn't acting like that!"

"He may not be displaying that arrogant superiority in his eyes yet, but he will the first time he saves all our asses."

"Mr. Fushimi, I already said that the people of SCEPTER 4 deserve respect for all the work they do," the centaur said, speaking evenly and without a hint of anger in his voice.

Saruhiko got up to Archer's face, locking his blue gaze with the Servant's green. "It doesn't matter. It's just impossible for me to like you."

"I was only reminding you of what I said. How you feel about me is up to you."

Saruhiko huffed and turned, walking away. "You're truly annoying."

"And _that's_ why he doesn't have any friends," Andy growled. "And he isn't one to talk! He acts so smug with those he deems weaker than him and dislikes anyone stronger! I don't even like being alone in the same room as him!"

"So he's always like that?"

"Mr. Fushimi seems to enjoy giving people the cold shoulder. He'll cooperate with you and stuff, but there's no changing the fact he won't like you."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

There was a knock on Reisi's office door. Reisi looked up from his jigsaw.

"Come in."

The door opened and in walked Gouki Zenjou. He used to have the nickname Zenjou the Ogre. Reisi smiled at him.

"It's rare to see you in my office, Mr. Zenjou. What can I do for you today?"

"I want to address a concern regarding your Servant."

"Is he stirring up trouble?"

"Nothing like that. He actually seems to be getting along quite well. For now. But given how powerful Servants are, if Archer goes out of control, will you be able to kill him?"

"Yes. He's pacted with me, so I can use a Seal to make him commit suicide."

"Even if it means forfeiting the Holy Grail?"

"Yes. Like anyone else with powers that stays from the correct path, an out-of-control Servant will only bring about chaos, which SCEPTER 4 will not stand for. But why are you asking this now?"

"I know you're entrusting Ms. Awashima to kill you in the event your Sword of Damocles falls. But I wanted to know how you planned to kill Archer in case he goes too far, even if it meant your ideal won't be reached in your lifetime. I also want to know, what is your plan for this Holy Grail War?"

"I will take a neutral stance. Given it's nature, Archer and I will be attacked. We'll fight only to defend ourselves."

"A tactic like that, it sounds like you aren't that obsessed with winning."

"The Grail will hasten a plan I already have to create my ideal world. As such, I'm not too fixated on it."

"Is Archer okay with it?"

"I've already informed him of the stance I'll take. He said he's fine with how I decide to play this game."

There was a knock on the door. Reisi looked at it.

"Come in." The door opened and Seri walked in. "Ah, Ms. Awashima."

"Captain, I have the documents you requested." Then she noticed the other person in the room. "Mr. Zenjou! What brings you in here?"

"I was asking him about his plans regarding his Servant."

"Regarding Archer? Did something happen?"

"Nothing yet. But I want to know what the King will do in the event Archer does do something disastrous to us."

Seri looked down sadly. "I know what you mean. Despite Archer insisting that he's merely a weapon, he's still a person able to make his own choices."

"That's the thing," Reisi said. "Kings have a Sword of Damocles to keep them in line. For Servants, it's the Command Seals. Without either, there would be untold destruction. The hearts of people can be troublesome, so it helps to have a leash just in case."

Gouki glanced at Reisi. "I did some research on the notes about Servants that Ruler provided us. In the event a Servant does turn against their allies, they are unable to direct an attack on their Master. But if, while going out of control, Archer is able to somehow break the pact..."

"...Then I would also be in danger," Reisi finished.

Seri spoke up. "I also did some research on Servants. It's very difficult to break a pact. It typically requires a Command Seal or some other outside help." She shook her head. "Perhaps we should stop talking this way. Archer doesn't appear mentally unstable, so this may all be a concern that will never come to pass."

Reisi smiled. "But there's always a chance. That's why it's a good idea to have a safeguard."

Gouki narrowed his eyes. "That's why you've entrusted Ms. Awashima to kill you in the event you go too far?"

"That is correct."

Unseen by either, Seri bit her bottom lip. Yes, she would need to strike him down in that case. Personally though, she prays that will never come to pass.

* * *

_Smoke from crumbling, burning buildings filled the sky, so much that it was impossible to tell the time of day. The air was heavy with the stench of burning corpses. The streets were filled with a red-and-black liquid, like mud. Whatever it touched went up in flames. A large creature that appeared like a big cat with seven heads and ten horns prowled through the smoldering ruins of what was identified as Tokyo. It was standing atop the mud like it's a solid surface. A deafening howl from the multiple heads broke the otherwise silent air, aside from the noises the buildings made as they crumbled to the ground._

_There was a smokey silhouette of a person on their knees atop a hill overlooking the devastated city. When they spoke, the voice sounded distorted, making it impossible to identify the person._

_"What...What have I done..?! I only wanted to make people happy!"_

"Master Ichigen, you're crying."

Kuroh and Berserker were gazing at the King with concern. He gently put his fingers on one closed eye. He did indeed feel wetness.

"Are you alright, Master Ichigen?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm sorry to worry you two."

Berserker clung tightly to his hand. "Please don't space out like that again!"

Ichigen possesses clairvoyance to see possible futures. But what events lead to the one he just saw? Are they already hurling towards it? It's this uncertainty that truly frightened him.


	5. Humans and Servants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second Servant fight breaks out and it's two Master-Servant pairs vs. two this time. While it is a clash of weapons, it also becomes a clash of idealism vs. cynicism. And other encounters take place during this fifth day. A battle between two who used to be allies. An attempt on a life for another game. A rebellion with a reason. And others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally didn't mean for the chapter to get as long as it did, I got carried away.

The next morning, Lancer groaned as he woke up. Who the hell's the jerk beating on his skull like a drum?

"So you're up, Lancer."

That was Mikoto. He had slept on the couch last night. Lancer whined a little and pulled the covers over his ears. "Please stop. I know you're talkin' normally but it's too loud right now...Ugh, my head's spinnin' like a top..."

"Do ya remember what happened yesterday?"

Lancer facepalmed with a groan. That sounded more unpleasant than his pounding headache. "Shit...What'd I do?"

"Nothin' much other than ya gettin' wasted enough to sing a line of Danger Zone."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Thought I might've kissed ya...Wait, did anythin' else happen?"

"Ya told me that ya killed your best friend..."

"Oh..."

"Did it happen recently?" That might be why he won't talk about it while he's sober.

"For this form's age, yes. I killed Ferdiad when I was 21. It's...not that pleasant."

Mikoto hadn't read to the war yet, but he already knows how important the Connacht warrior was to the Ulster one. So he decided not to ask about it. It'd probably upset the Servant more than anticipated. The King changed the subject instead. "Ya never mentioned that you're a prince."

"'Cause I _really_ don't give a shit 'bout havin' that kinda title. I'm perfectly happy with bein' a knight."

Mikoto huffed a laugh. "Not gonna take advantage of the fact Lugh's a king?"

"Not my style."

"Modest royalty?"

"Yeah. I think it'd be a pain to have people trippin' all over themselves to kiss my ass. And about my Dad, I have some shit to say 'bout him."

"What about?"

"While I'm still a little sour 'bout him just knockin' Mom up and not even botherin' to show his face for several years, it's only a mild annoyance compared to this. He fuckin' talks. A lot. When I met him, he asked me how I was doin' in Ulster. Then he began blabbin' so much that I couldn't get a single word in. He didn't even pause to take a breath! I think the headache he gave me is what knocked me out! He doesn't need Fragarach, the people he's questionin' will tell him what he wants just to have him shut up!"

"I...see. So how'dja meet him?"

"It's when I got badly wounded durin' the war with Connacht."

"Oh."

Lancer glanced at him. He could tell by the tone of the King's voice he doesn't know squat about that war to begin with. "Ya didn't know much about me, do ya?"

"No," Mikoto admitted. "I only just started readin' your legend."

"I'm not surprised. Celts aren't well-known in Japan. That's why I don't have much of a Cultural Sphere here. I'm much weaker than if I was in Europe. I'd be much stronger than that if I was in Ireland."

"Speakin' of your legend, Totsuka's worried about ya. When he asked if ya regret your first life, ya said ya don't but seemed to hurry to end the conversation."

Lancer sighed. "I meant it when I said I don't regret my first life. But he never asked me if I have any disappointments, which I have a ton of. Even if some make me sad, I don't regret 'em 'cause they shaped who I am today."

_That's right. I don't regret anything. My first life was only one full of wrong turns. That's all._

"Huh."

"That's all ya hafta say? 'Huh'?"

"What were ya expectin' me to say?"

"Well...I...Okay, ya have a point."

* * *

Misaki was walking into the arcade. He needed to maintain his high score on Undead Hunter.

"Are ya kiddin' me?!"

The shout came from a man at one of the video game machines. As Misaki went to the game he wants to play, the one right next to the person, he realized something felt a little off about this man. Maybe it's just his imagination.

The man snuck a peek at what Misaki was playing. "That any good?"

"You don't like the one you're at?"

He narrowed his amber eyes at it. "Damn thing made a fool of me. It's takin' all my self-restraint to keep from punchin' it through the wall."

"Ya lost badly at it?"

"It's gonna end up costin' me all the money the old man gave me!"

Misaki couldn't help but smirk. "Ya look like you're in your 20's and ya need an allowance? I'm 19 and I have a part-time job!"

That may have been the wrong thing to say, because Misaki immediately felt an intense level of killing intent. He slowly looked at the man, who was glaring daggers at the skateboarder.

"You just made fun of me, didn't you?"

He took a step forward, but that's when six people showed up around the man and grabbed him. Misaki saw that all of them were wearing yellow masks like...there's no way they're the Usagi! After all, why would they even be here?!

"Let me go!" the man snarled.

"Calm down!" one of them hissed. It looked like they were struggling to hold back the black-haired man, even with six of them.

"It's bad enough that we're having to reveal ourselves!" another added. "Anything further and we'll notify him about this situation! I doubt you will be pleased to face his fury!"

He stopped squirming. "Grr...Fine!"

One of the people looked at Misaki. "I apologize for this." Then he looked back at the man. "Let's go."

"Whatever. I wanna see what else is in the city anyway."

Misaki looked at the group in confusion as they left the arcade. What was that all about?

* * *

"What's your wish?"

Reisi looked up from his paperwork to look at his Servant. "Hm?"

"Since you were chosen as a Master, you must have a wish you're willing to risk your life for."

"You know that SCEPTER 4 wishes to bring about order. We work for that end. Yet chaos still persists in this world. This fight is to spread our ideal for the world. It will be a time of peace."

"You are aware that others have attempted the same thing and failed, right?"

"I'm aware. But I have a solid method in mind. The Holy Grail should be able to bring about that method on all lands. It's supposed to realize any desire, no? That's my wish. Now it's your turn. Why do you fight?"

"I'm a little embarrassed since it's so selfish. I wish to regain my immortality."

"What do you mean?"

"I was born from the titan, Chronus, and the nymph, Philyra. Due to this, I would have been classified as a Divine Spirit, a god. They are unable to be summoned by the Grail. But I'm a Heroic Spirit from my giving up my immortality to Prometheus. I am not attached to the idea of being immortal, but it was a gift from my parents that I should never have given up."

"Why did you?"

"One of my students, Heracles, accidentally shot me with an arrow tipped with hydra venom while driving off my brethren, who were drunk due to the fumes from Dionysus' wine. I was in agony, but I couldn't die, so I asked my half brother Zeus to give my immortality to Prometheus."

"I see...So you'll return to being a Divine Spirit if we win?"

"I should. But what will it look like? Will I return to life?"

"I suppose we need to win and see."

Archer smiled. "I look forward to seeing your ideal world. Perhaps we may even cross paths in it."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about at that time."

"I'll take my leave now if that's all."

"Oh, before I forget," Reisi passed some reports over to Archer, "hand these to Mr. Fushimi in the information room."

"I apologize if this sounds rude, but doesn't Ms. Awashima normally do this?"

"Yes, but she's currently on patrol. And as you can see, I'm very busy at the moment."

Archer didn't bring up the fact he could see some color of a jigsaw puzzle glowing through the two sheets of paper over it. He instead bowed. "Very well, Master."

In the information room, Archer found Saruhiko typing away at a laptop.

"The Blue King asked me to hand these to you," Archer said, holding up the reports.

Saruhiko glanced at the Servant briefly before returning his attention to the screen of the computer. "Just set 'em down here." He pat the top of a pile of papers next to the laptop.

Archer did as instructed. "You seem to have quite a lot to do."

"He insists he can handle it," Himori said. He and Yuujirou were working on two other laptops.

"Before you go, tell that stupid Doumyouji to get his ass in here. Right. Now!" The snarl in Saruhiko's voice could be clearly heard. "He just finished arresting a Strain who decided to stir up trouble. The report he gave me regarding the incident was like something a first-grader would write! I tried calling him on his PDA, but the idiot won't respond!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is," Archer replied.

"I think he and Kamo are currently in the cafeteria," Yuujirou said without looking up.

Saruhiko glared at him. "Why didn't you say something sooner?!"

Yuujirou looked up this time. "You never asked where he is! And the message you left on his phone didn't ask his location either! It was just full of profanity!"

"It still wouldn't kill you to be helpful for one..."

"Are you serious?!" Himori exclaimed. "Benzai and I are taking off from our lunch break to assist you with these reports! Don't say we aren't helpful!"

"Umm...I'll take a peek in the cafeteria..." Archer awkwardly said. Even a non-Servant would be able to sense the tension quickly growing in this room.

As the centaur left the room, Saruhiko shouted one last thing. "Make sure to call him an idiot when you fetch him!"

In the cafeteria was Ryuuhou and Andy. Ryuuhou was behind the counter while Andy was sitting at it, holding a fork and knife.

"You're such a child..." Ryuuhou groaned.

Those words failed to deter Andy. "I don't care! I WANT CAKE!"

Archer walked over and glanced at Ryuuhou, who was getting out the ingredients. "You're really doing it?"

"Didn't you spoil your students when you were alive?"

"Well, I spoiled Achilles from time to time, but it was as a reward and he was an actual child back then! You're telling Mr. Doumyouji it's okay for him to behave this way!"

"I know, but if I don't do this, Doumyouji will be in a foul mood the rest of the day."

"He does it because he knows it'll get you to do what he wants." Archer sighed before turning his attention to Andy. "Mr. Doumyouji, Mr. Fushimi wants you in the information room. He has an issue with the report you gave him earlier today."

There was sweat on Andy's face. "Oh..." He laughed nervously. "I'll take care of it later!"

"He demanded you get there right away."

Ryuuhou chuckled. "You should just hurry and get it over with, Doumyouji. You know that the longer you hold off, the angrier he'll get."

Andy looked to pout. "I know..." He looked at Archer. "How mad is he?"

"He told me to call you an idiot and Mr. Benzai mentioned that Mr. Fushimi left a message full of profanities on your phone."

"You don't have your PDA on you?" Ryuuhou asked.

"I forgot it in our room..." Then Andy groaned. "It sounds like Mr. Fushimi's really pissed...He might decide to just kill me..."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Akiria was mentally unable to stay in his own room. Ren, his roommate, had procured a wooden doll from Hawaii that. Won't. Stop. Staring! How is it that only Akira finds his dolls creepy?! He was off duty for now, so he decided what to spend the rest of his day on. In the hall, he encountered Daiki, who was also on standby.

"Fuse, I need your help in this."

"What is it?"

"It's time to solve something about Doumyouji. You know how he acts like a little kid sometimes? Well, I say it's time to find out if he has any 'mature' hobbies."

Daiki stared at Akira with a deadpan expression. "...I think I know where this is going. The answer's 'no'."

"Come on! He's in the cafeteria right now with Kamo, probably pestering the poor guy to whip up a time-consuming desert! This is a perfect opportunity!"

"But why are you dragging me into this?!"

"Gotti's in the city right now with Eno." He was tugging on Daiki's arm. "Please! You're the only one I can trust!"

"Ugh, fine! You won't budge when you get like this."

In Andy and Ryuuhou's room, Akira rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. "Let the search begin!"

"Should we _really_ be doing this?" Daiki asked. "What if we get caught?"

Akira was looking under Andy's mattress. "We can't just turn back on this, Fuse! Now help me look!"

"What if he doesn't even have any?"

"He's a young man like the rest of us in the Special Squad! He's gotta!"

"Does that include you, Hidaka?"

Akira chose to not respond. He was digging around in a sock drawer. His knuckles hit the bottom. He was surprised to hear a hollow thud. "Huh?"

Daiki looked up from checking in the closet. "What is it?"

"A false bottom...Could this be..?!" He managed to get it open. "Found it!"

"Alright, can we leave now?"

"No way! We gotta take a look at Doumyouji's stash!"

"Come on..." Daiki whined. He fumbled to catch a magazine thrown at him. "H-Hey!"

"We're off right now, so we deserve to relax."

"How is this relaxing?" But Daiki was cracking open the magazine while saying that.

Akira was scanning through one. "Huh, didn't know Doumyouji's into blonds. He doesn't seem interested in Lieutenant Awashima at all."

"Maybe he is and conceals it well."

"I dunno. He isn't that good at hiding what he's feeling."

"Yeah, he does comment on her breast size a lot."

"All of us do that behind her back, though."

Both men were so wrapped up in reading that they didn't notice the person who just entered the room.

"Why are you guys looking through Kamo's porn?"

Akira and Daiki almost jumped out of their skin at the sound of Andy's voice.

Akira looked back nervously. "Doumyouji, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the cafeteria."

"I forgot something in here and I needed to grab it."

Daiki processed exactly what Andy said. "Wait, Kamo's porn?"

"He's been using it as a way to get off since his wife divorced him. Were you looking for something else?"

Akira slapped the magazine he held closed in a rush. "Nope! Let's go, Fuse!"

"Hey! Quit yanking my arm!"

Andy smirked and bent down by his bed, lifting a floorboard under it that had been broken for a while. He called this Pandora's Box. Held within were several dirty magazines. Why would he hide them where anyone can find them?

* * *

Misaki walked into the bar. "Well, it was eventful for me at the arcade." He plopped down in a booth. "There was this guy that six people lookin' like the Usagi had to stop."

Izumo, who was washing dishes, froze. "The Usagi?!"

Lancer glanced at the bartender. "Who're they?"

"Clansmen of the Gold King, Daikaku Kokujouji. They all wear rabbit masks, as the name implies. He rarely sends them out, so that person must've been crucial."

Lancer suddenly looked serious and directed his attention at Misaki. "Yata, did anything stand out about this person?"

"He talked 'bout punchin' the game unit he was at through the wall and even six Usagi had a hard time restrainin' the guy when he got pissed at me."

"That strength, pretty sure he's a Servant."

"The Gold Clan's Servant?!" Izumo exclaimed.

"Yata's lucky to survive a pissed-off Servant. He must not've been too serious 'bout killin'. If he was, six humans would hardly be enough to stop him."

"Shit..." Izumo growled, nearly crushing his cigarette. "I really hope he doesn't hang out in Shizume. I don't think we'd be able to relax if he does."

"Welcome to the Holy Grail War." Then Lancer looked to have remembered something. "Oh yeah! Izumo, when does the bar open?"

"We're openin' late since it's the weekend, so in about three hours. Why?"

"That's enough time. Anna! Are ya ready to head out?"

The girl ran down the stairs and up to the spearman. "What are we going to play today, Lancer?" She might not hang around him as much as she does Mikoto, but just like the King's red aura, Lancer's red was also violent and chaotic. A vast sea of raging emotions. And that comforted her, making him be very approachable to the doll-like Strain.

Lancer smiled at her. "I was thinkin' that I'll take ya to the park."

"What's this about?" Izumo asked.

"I promised her we'd do somethin' before the bar opens."

Izumo chuckled. "Ya really like playin' with kids, huh Lancer?"

"So I do. Sue me."

"I don't have a problem. I actually think it's good you're choosin' to bond with her. Just to tell ya, bar opens at 5 today, so return by 4:30."

"Alright."

Anna was holding tightly to the Celt's hand as they walked along the sidewalk. Even though it was winter, he made the girl feel so warm. That black-and-white form of the man she saw in the marble, someone this kind couldn't possibly make her feel like she's freezing. She was probably only seeing things. It had to be that. It was terrifying to think about the Servant becoming _that._ But still, she had to be certain.

"Lancer?"

"Hm?"

"Are you able to undergo a form change?"

"Normally, yes. But as a Grail-summoned Servant, it can only happen if my Class is Berserker. Why ya askin'?"

"No reason." Perhaps what she saw is him as a Berserker. That thought made her feel better.

There were a few kids on the playground equipment. Anna ran over to play with them. Lancer sat down on the bench next to a mom.

"That girl is so cute!" she said to the warrior. "Are you her dad? You look too young to have a child that old, so perhaps her uncle or brother?"

"No. I'm just an acquaintance of hers."

"Lancer." Anna was sitting at the top of a side. She was holding out one hand. "Hold my hand while I go down the slide."

The demigod chuckled as he got up. He went over and took hold of her hand. "Alright."

"Thanks. It helps make me feel not alone."

He was then on one of the swings with her. She insisted that he do it right beside her.

Later, when he was going to play with her some more, Lancer noticed some red coming out of Anna's hand. "Looks like ya caught your palm on somethin'. Gimme your hand and I'll heal it."

"Just wait. I want to show you something cool. I can do this with my blood." A few drops of blood lifted from the cut and combined into an orb. Then the orb solidified into a red marble that Anna grasped in between her index finger and thumb.

"That's awesome!" Lancer said.

Anna didn't mean to pry deeply into Lancer's mind, but she happened to see him through the marble. "You wish you were able to play with your son, don't you? That's why you enjoy playing with me."

The knight's eyes went wide and he looked like he was trying not to cry as he remembered that incident, the feeling of Connla's warm blood on his hands, the strength fully leaving the boy's arms after he embraced his father. "Anna..."

She looked embarrassed. "You know that Strains can have supernatural powers even without being in a Clan. Mine are empathetic. You were thinking about having the chance to know Connla as father and son. But I didn't see that it happened very recently for you until after I said something. I'm sorry."

Lancer tried to give her a smile. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize. It's all in the past." That's when he noticed something's off. "Wait, it got way too empty." Then he sniffed the air and stuck his arm out in front of the little girl, gently pushing her behind him. "Stay back, Anna!"

There were several people who wore black helmets with green lines instead of parents and children. They came out of hiding in front of Lancer, on second story balconies, and in trees. Lancer estimated there were around 100. He bared his fangs in frustration. Was he too absorbed in playing with the Strain to smell or hear them approach?

"Anna, stay right next to me. I'll keep ya protected."

One of them got reward information on Lancer with the visor on his helmet. "500,000 JUNGLE Points for Lancer?! He's worth five Kings! We'll all reach J-rank 'cause of him!" Then they all pulled out what looked like suffed parrots. "Sorry, but for us to get those Points, you'll need to die." The parrots were all thrown at the two. Lancer had already smelled bomb materials from them. He materialized what looked like four red stones in one hand and tossed them at Anna. The dolls blew up, obscuring the two in a large cloud of smoke and dust.

"That was too easy!" another one said. Then the blast started to clear. "There were over 100 of those! How are they still alive?!"

Lancer was standing in front of Anna, who was being protected by a barrier that showed no signs of damage. Both were devoid of even a single scratch. Because Lancer had made his modern clothes spiritual like him, they were undamaged by the conventional weaponry. The Servant looked completely relaxed, like he was somewhere where he isn't surrounded by enemies.

The spirit glanced at Anna and smiled, a way of promising her that everything will be okay. "Just stay in my runic barrier. It'll keep ya safe." It's the only shield he can make while being a Lancer. That bounded field, created by four of his runes, is strong enough to defend against even a really powerful Noble Phantasm. No way some weak-ass attack will crack it.

"Dammit!" Bullets and green electricity went flying at Lancer, who didn't bother budging at all. The bullets were deflected by his Protection From Arrows and the electricity, paltry magecraft, was nullified by his Magic Resistance. "What _is_ he?!"

Lancer sighed. He seemed totally bored. "You weaklings can't even _touch_ me. So unless ya wanna die in the next second..." he suddenly let out a ton of killing intent, his scary expression giving off the feeling that he's in fact a vicious wolf ready to tear these pathetic humans into bloody pieces. Trying to harm someone that a very protective Servant is defending, even if it was useless? Bad move. They should count themselves extremely lucky to still be alive in order to take another breath. Using his spear would be overkill on them. Simple hand-to-hand combat would be more than enough to kill these guys. But he didn't want to have Anna see him murder a bunch of people, "...then get the hell outta here!"

All the opponents suddenly dropped their guns and hightailed it. Even Anna was shaking uncontrollably. But only by reminding herself this is her ally and he promised to protect her did she stay put.

Atop a building overlooking this were Green Clansmen. Sukuna tsked and Yukari sighed, looking at Kotosaka, who was on his shoulder. "Looks like your pawns were completely ineffective."

Kotosaka replied, but with Nagare's voice. "I was afraid of this. And that was a good majority of U-ranks. Well, it was worth a try. I think you two should retreat right now."

Sukuna rested his weapon against his shoulder. "Yeah, it'll be a one-sided slaughter if he senses us."

"He's probably already detected our mana," Yukari pointed out, already backing away slowly, "but I don't think he'll attack unless we do first." Then he glanced at Kotosaka again. "Why'd you make the bounty so high?"

"Aside from his physiology as a Heroic Spirit, from what I've read about his first life so far, it seemed appropriate. He isn't one of Ireland's two greatest heroes for nothing. The man is truly a beast."

* * *

Yukari and Sukuna were about to go into a shop when the older person noticed a certain someone head into a back road. "Sukuna, go ahead and buy that air freshener Mr. Iwa requested."

Sukuna looked surprised. "Huh? Is something going on?"

"I just remembered an errand I need to run is all. Just return on your own when you're done." He looked at the green parrot flying between them. "Kotosaka, stay with him."

"Yukari! Come back soon!" he squawked.

Yukari casually sauntered into the alley. He was about ten meters behind the person with the long, black hair pulled up into a ponytail.

"It's been a while, Kuroh!"

The teen looked back, snarled at the man, and tightly gripped the handle of his sword on his waist. "Yukari, why are _you_ here?!"

Yukari feigned shock. "Such a hateful look! Should you really be giving it to your older brother?"

"I stop seeing you as that a long time ago, when you turned your back on the Colorless Clan!"

"And now you're looking to strike down. And here I was gonna ask you what brings you into the city."

"I'm shopping for supplies to make dinner for the King you pointed your sword at!"

Saber suddenly materialized behind Yukari and was grinning. "You did that too? That's awesome!"

Yukari looked at the Servant in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Saber turned her head away and was blushing. "I was just wandering by. It-it's not like I was worried about you!"

The man smiled. "Thanks. But don't interfere with us. Just watch over this battle."

"I'm serious! I wasn't concerned about you being close to that savage guard dog!"

"Savage?"

"He mercilessly took hundreds of thousands of lives when he was alive. All for his homeland."

"Wouldn't you do the same?"

"At least I don't have the kind of personality quirk he does!"

Kuroh decided to break this up before they forget he's there. He glared at the female swordsman. "What Yukari did was _not_ awesome! It was Master Ichigen!"

"How many fucks do you honestly think I give about someone I don't even know?"

Yukari spoke again. "Kuroh, that happened over eight years ago. Just let it go."

Kuroh pulled out a katana. "I never will even if you plead for forgiveness!"

The man with the purple and blue hair sighed as he unsheathed the katana on his back, Ayamachi. "Perhaps you need your older brother to teach you to let go sometimes. Something like that isn't worth it!"

Sparks showered each time the swords clashed. Pieces of the color their auras took flew up from the blades. Kuroh was trying to match Yukari's speed. But the man was proving too fast.

Kuroh jumped back and jabbed his left hand at Yukari. A spectral hand shot out. The man simply sidestepped out of way and dashed at the black-haired young man. Kuroh quickly held his katana with both hands to block the sword strike. Both blades ground against each other.

Eventually, the sword clashes took their toll on Kuroh's weapon and the blade shattered. Ayamachi stopped right before the teen's face.

"I expect you to show improvement with the sword next time we meet, Kuroh. If there is none, I'll cut you down without mercy." Yukari sheathed his katana and walked away. Saber joined him.

"Yukari, wait!" Kuroh called out.

The man didn't look back. "Don't try to follow us."

"Even if he does, I'll smell him," Saber said. Once they walked far enough away, she spoke up again. "Why did you let him go?"

"I wanted to see how far he had come since last I saw him, and I was fairly pleased. He'll blossom into a beautiful flower one day."

"You want him to surpass you?"

Yukari smirked. "Perhaps."

* * *

While making tea in Reisi's office, a siren began blaring. Archer looked up. "What's that?"

"Some Beta Strains have caused trouble," Reisi explained. Beta Strains are more dangerous than normal Strains. "Get ready to head out."

Reisi and Archer got into a large Blue Clan van. Also in it were Seri, Saruhiko, and the Special Squad. Other officers were in three other vans.

"So what's the situation?" Reisi asked.

"I've already told the driver where we're going," Saruhiko replied. "We're dealing with seven Betas and about a dozen common Strains. Possibly more...And an Alpha."

Reisi looked a little surprised and Archer turned his attention to the King. "What's that?"

"Alpha Strains are incredibly rare. The last one encountered was when Jin Habari was still the Blue King. Even Lieutenant Awashima would have a tough time bringing one into custody."

"We should be fine as long as we all work together," Akira said.

"Hopefully..." Himori murmured.

Andy had a giant grin. "This is the first time we'll see Archer fight! Make sure to give us a good show!"

"Archer's far stronger than the Betas and Alphas," Yuujirou pointed out. "He'll probably have to put quite a bit of effort into not killing them."

"Don't worry. I'll be able to manage non-lethal blows. It won't look impressive, Mr. Doumyouji. But I believe it's better to be effective then stylish."

"I know, but I wish you'd show a bit of a Servant's true power."

"That'd be my Noble Phantasm. But Antares Snipe [Heavenly Scorpion Single Shot] can only be used at night and only once a night at that. That and anything else would be too destructive."

"Doumyouji, just let him decide how to fight," Seri sighed.

Some time later, the van stopped. "We're here," the driver said.

Reisi looked at Seri. "Work on creating a perimeter."

She saluted. "Yes sir! Men! Let's move!"

Once everyone else left the van, leaving the King and his Servant, Archer turned to Reisi. "What about us?"

"We'll wait for news of the containment and then capture the Strains."

After awhile, Saruhiko peeked into the van. "Sir? The lieutenant wants you."

Reisi adjusted his glasses. "Very well." Archer followed him out of the van.

Seri ran up to the King and stood at attention. "We have successfully sealed off the area. We can now apprehend the criminals within the building."

Reisi smirked. "We will advance with our swords in our hands. We will triumph because our cause is just."

The woman directed her attention to the rest of the Blue Clan. "Men! Draw your swords!"

"Akiyama, ready!"

"Benzai, ready!"

"Kamo, ready!"

"Doumyouji, ready!"

"Enomoto, ready!"

"Fuse, ready!"

"Gotou, ready!"

"Hidaka, ready!"

"Fushimi, ready!"

"Awashima, ready!"

"Munakata, ready!"

When Reisi pulled out his saber, his undamaged blue Sword of Damocles materialized. His Sanctum would boost the strength of his men.

A golden bow materialized in Archer's left hand. "I'm ready as well."

"Then let's go in."

Seri cut down the door to the building with one slash of her saber. She and the others went into a lobby with numerous Strains on the opposite side of the room.

"We of SCEPTER 4 are here to take you all into custody!" Himori shouted. "The use of powers will be viewed the same as using weapons!"

The Strains snarled. "SCEPTER 4..! You people have powers just like us! So why do you get respect?!"

Reisi narrowed his eyes but smiled. "You're unhappy with your conditions in life. Do you truly think this is the best way to improve the treatment of Strains?"

"We know, but a peaceful protest didn't work. Some of us were gunned down by the police!"

SCEPTER 4 looked shocked. "What?!"

Saruhiko tsked. "I thought these guys looked familiar. They were on surveillance footage from what was reported as a 'superpowered people uprising'."

"Because of that, this is the only other option to get heard!"

"We'll have a talk with Metro PD," Reisi said, "but this situation won't make things any better. It could actually cause the public's hatred of Strains to worsen. If you surrender peacefully, it should make it easier to negotiate new methods for dealing with Strains."

"And why should we trust you people?! You're basically the police! How do we know you guys aren't planning on executing us all?! No, if you want us to be turned in, you'll need to fight us first because we won't go with you without a fight!"

Several bullets were shot at the Blue Clan. Reisi had a barrier of his blue aura shield his people. As soon as the bullets hit the translucent dome, they shattered into nothingness. "I see that violence is the answer you people choose. Ms. Awashima, I leave command of the force to you. Archer and I will provide backup."

Seri saluted. "Yes sir! Everyone else, bring in the criminals!"

"Roger!"

In an instant, the room was filled with the clashing of SCEPTER 4 and the Strains.

Tatsuya fell on his butt while fighting a Beta. The barrel of a gun was pointing right at the young man's head. Before the trigger could be pulled, Archer's arm shot out, grabbing the arm of the Strain. It was like he teleported to this spot. A sickening crunch was heard as the two bones in the forearm were crushed as easily as breaking a potato chip. This prevented the bullet from being fired.

"Are you alright, Mr. Enomoto?" the centaur asked without looking back. He released the Strain so Ren and Akira could take the screaming human away for medical attention. They were staring at the Servant with dumbfounded expressions.

He got to his feet. "Y-Yeah..."

One muscular Strain around two meters tall with large strength tried to punch Archer's head from behind. The punch was powerful enough to easily crush a human skull. But Archer's head barely moved from the impact. He turned around and grabbed the person's arm with one hand, placed his other hand on the man's chest with the other, and slammed him onto the ground on his back. Only enough force to knock them out was used.

Tatsuya was left speechless and Andy exclaimed "Holy shit!" He reacted in time to use his saber to block a slash at his head from the criminal he's currently confronting and tackled the Strain that struck at him to the ground. "You aren't going anywhere!"

He noticed two Strains about to ambush Ryuuhou while he was combating another. Archer materialized two dull arrows in his right hand and fired them at the two Strain, knocking them out. Another Strain tried to strike at the Servant, but Reisi took out the person's lights with a single blow to the back of the head.

"I thought to give a backup some backup," the King said. He had noticed something about the arrows his Servant fired. He went over, picked up an arrow, and looked it over. "No arrowheads?"

"Those Strains still have human bodies. The lack of arrowheads will knock them out instead of possibly killing them when I attempt to make them black out."

There was a sudden shout. Looking over, they saw that one of Saruhiko's knives had sunk into a Strain's shoulder. The young man was grumbling angrily as he walked over to place a pair of power dampening handcuffs on the person. "Man, you're loud."

"It looks like this floor's good now," Reisi commented. "Ms. Awashima, secure the above floors. There will most likely be more."

"Understood. We're going to the second floor everyone!"

After some time had passed, Reisi's PDA chimed. He took it out and looked at the message on it.

"Mr. Fushimi just texted me they located the Alpha on the third floor. But she has telekinesis. While he managed to get out of her line of sight in time, Ms. Awashima and some of the Special Squad have been rendered frozen in place."

While they rushed to the stairway, Archer spoke up. "So the powers are only active if you're in her line of sight?"

"That's what Mr. Fushimi texted me."

"It sound like the power comes from mystic eyes."

"And those are?"

"They basically allow you to cast magecraft by looking at someone. The most famous example would be Medusa from Greek mythology, who has the Mystic Eyes of Petrification."

The two crouched down on the stairs before they could be in anyone's line of sight on the third floor.

"You rescue your men," Archer whispered. "My Magic Resistance is strong enough to ignore weak mystic eyes, so I'll take on the Strain."

"Very well."

Archer burst into the room first. There was some rubble laying around in the Strain's field of vision that she tried to make a shield with, but the Servant was too fast. He backhanded her into the wall with just enough force to knock her out. It was over so fast that it was laughable.

"Get a power dampener on her!" Reisi ordered right after freeing the final Blue Clan member. This was done by channelling his aura into them, briefly amplifying theirs enough in order to undo the spell. Saruhiko shot forward to handcuff her. "Capture any remaining Strains!"

"We'll go back to the second floor," Saruhiko said. "We rushed up here after Fuse said the Alpha ran up here."

"Then get to it."

"Understood," Seri replied. She and the other went down. After a while, she alone came back up and stood at attention. "Captain!"

"What is it?"

"I am deeply sorry, but some of the Strains got past the blockade and fled for Shizume."

"So we'll be going elsewhere in the city now?" Archer asked his Master.

"It's Red Clan territory. Hopefully we'll finish without encountering any of those people."

* * *

Izumo and Lancer were preparing for the opening of the bar. Lancer had already told the Red Clan about the incident in the park, and Izumo said he'd try to look into it.

"Good thing there was no attack yesterday. The bar wouldn't still be standin' if a Servant assaulted while I was unconscious," Lancer was saying.

"But you're ready now I hope."

"Of course I am. And Mikoto's close by. The closer the Master, the stronger the Servant." Mikoto was currently in his room upstairs.

"Other than that, ya guys don't seem to have a limit to how much hurt ya can dish out."

"We actually do. It's our mana. The less mana we have, the weaker we get. And ya know we fade if we run out. That's why we tend to hold back when we fight. And just existin' consumes mana. Our magic circuits are able to restore mana naturally, but it takes time. We don't need to eat, but the food we injest can be converted into mana and the mana cost is lessened greatly while sleepin'. In dire situations, we have to resort to blood-suckin' or mana transfers to restore it quickly. There's also the option of us absorbin' mana directly from a ley line, but it can be risky as we'll not only be out in the open, but the process takes time and we can't defend ourselves durin' it."

"What 'bout Command Seals?"

Lancer was silent before replying. "...They can do it as well. But since it consumes a stroke, it should be a last resort."

"I'll remember to tell Mikoto this."

Lancer noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tatara was looking through some kind of object with one eye. It was small enough that he could hold it by the metal post it was attached to with one hand. "December 26, 4:53 p.m."

"What's that?" Lancer pointed at the device.

"An old movie camera," Tatara explained. "This one broke when I accidentally dropped it, but the damage was fixable. My order for repair parts came in today." The view was focused on Lancer.

"I thought ya were into filmin' the city at night," Izumo pointed out.

"I know, but I don't have anything of Lancer yet."

The demigod's cheeks were red and he tried to hide his face behind his hands. "Come on! Quit it! This feels embarrassin'..."

Tatara didn't put the camera down. "I just want to get some footage of your first day on the job here."

"I've never been filmed before. It feels really weird!"

"All of us in the Red Clan need to be filmed at least once! Anna even got me with the camera before!"

Izumo grinned. "Is a certain someone camera-shy?"

"Ugh, just leave me alone."

Tatara chuckled. "Just show your face, Lancer. This'll be over sooner if you do."

"You are evil, y'know?"

Izumo clapped Lancer on the back. "Be a man!"

Lancer peeked out to glare at the bartender. "Shut up! Ya ain't helpin'!"

"I noticed a lot of your Irish accent just came out," Tatara said while continuing to record. "Does that happen when you get really embarrassed?"

His entire face went red. "Shut the fuck up!"

Izumo laughed. "Bar's gonna open, Totsuka. Record the scaredy-cat later."

The Servant slammed his hands down on the counter. "I AM NOT scared! We just didn't have those things in my time! I'm from the end of the Age of the Gods to the start of the Age of Man! Now leave me alone!"

"Ah, that's right." Now Tatara put the camera down. "The Grail lets you know how this works, but you've never actually seen one."

Izumo went to flip the closed sign to open. As both of them got ready to serve customers, Lancer noticed someone was missing.

"Where'd Tatara go?" All the other male Clansmen were milling around the main bar area, probably preparing to charm some people.

Izumo jabbed his thumb at the closed door to the stairway. "He went upstairs with Mikoto."

A few people came into the bar. After an hour, more poured in. And they were all girls.

Izumo chuckled as the Servant told him a food order. "I overheard some of the female customers sayin' they 'can't wait to be served by the hot new waiter'."

Lancer smirked. "Can't say I'm surprised. My looks attracted so many of the ladies durin' my first life that the guys worried I'd end up stealin' their wives. Considerin' the number of women I slept with, it's surprisin' the only one I got pregnant was Aife."

As he went away from the counter, a blushing young lady waved him down. "Sir Lancer, I'm ready to order!"

The blue-haired man smiled. This caused a "kyaa!". "I'll be right there." He seemed to be a natural at serving people. Unknown to him, or perhaps he was pretending not to notice, Yõ, Saburouta, and Misaki were glaring at him with pure hatred.

The girl Yõ was flirting with pressed closer to him. It took him a while to find a woman who isn't all over the Servant. "Is something wrong, Chitose?"

He replied through grit teeth. "No, I'm fine."

By the time Lancer's shift was over, there weren't that many customers. Mikoto emerged out into the bar. Tatara was playing with Anna in her room.

"I'm goin' outside, Lancer. It's night, so ya probably wanna come along."

His Servant grinned. "Of course!" He followed the King out of the bar.

"I can't believe how many girls were here tonight!" Shouhei exclaimed.

Izumo giggled like a little kid as he looked at the totals. "I can't believe the sales...And this was in only four hours...Shoulda had Lancer as a waiter earlier...I only see these numbers when Kamamoto becomes skinny..."

"And just like those times, barely any girls wanted to talk to me!" Yõ growled. "I only got one phone number! We need to get the girls to stop goin' 'kyaa kyaa' over that guy!"

Masaomi sweatdropped at his friend. "You're thinkin' of a way to get Lancer fat, aren't you?"

"If I have to!"

Misaki slammed his hands down on a table. "Why didn't we notice it earlier?!"

Saburouta pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because Lancer was always out or somewhere else in the bar when single young women came in..."

Yõ looked around to make sure Lancer was actually out of the bar. "How is he able to attract so many ladies?! Sure, he's good-lookin', but he smells like a dog!"

"Actually, the scent's so subtle that you'd need to get close to smell it..." Kousuke pointed out. Yõ gave the ginger a scathing glare.

"Maybe ya should instead try to give out advice on how to solve this crisis!"

Kousuke sighed. "Look, maybe it's only seasonal like with Kamamoto."

"I don't think so," Izumo said. "Lancer was really handsome all year in his first life."

"Guys," Shouhei spoke up. "Lancer will fade when the Holy Grail War's over. I'm sure not even you wanna go back to being the bar's chick magnet in that way, Chitose."

"I-I know!" Yõ went back to looking angry. "Looks like Lancer's good at fightin' _and_ gettin' girls!"

"And it's not just that," Misaki grumbled. "I played a handheld video game with him. It was his first time and he still kicked my ass in the high score! What the hell does he suck at?!"

"I'd actually like to find out that as well," Izumo said. "But I dunno how easy it'll be. The god, Lugh, was supposed to be good at everythin'. As his mortal incarnation, Lancer's also multi-talented. But he's also a weakened copy. As such, he's missin' most of his skills. It could take time, but we might find a way to trip him up."

Yõ slammed his hands down on the bar counter. "But the biggest issue is how to get the girls to stop fawnin' all over him! Got any ideas?!"

Izumo took out a cigarette. "Sorry, you're on your own with that. He's makin' me a good amount of money. I'm not 'bouta sabotage that."

* * *

"...And they actually had to throw water on me to get me to cool down!" Lancer was saying. He was talking about his first life.

Mikoto chuckled a little. "Kusanagi did the same to me three years ago."

Mikoto and Lancer emerged onto the roof of a building in the business district. The demigod had just used some of the money he earned tonight to buy a pack of cigarettes and now he and his Master were going to view Shizume at night while having a smoke. They didn't expect someone else to be up here.

"Huh? Why're you up here, Munakata?" Mikoto asked.

Reisi adjusted his glasses. "I could ask you the same thing."

"None of your fuckin' business, that's what."

Reisi's violet gaze shifted to the man standing by the Red King. Animal-like crimson eyes were narrowed. "Is that your Servant at your side? He reminds me of a vile, untamed beast. He's a perfect match for you, Suoh."

Mikoto scoffed. "Is yours stuffy and unlikable? 'Cause that'd be the perfect Servant for ya. Anyway, need I remind ya this is Red Clan territory, Munakata? Ya shouldn't just casually wander in here."

"I didn't just saunter in without reason. A group of Strains we were trying to bring in came here."

Mikoto smirked. "Ya seemed relaxed for a Master caught alone by another Master and Servant."

"It's not as if he's totally unguarded. Right, pal?" Lancer was looking at the empty space to Reisi's left, where he could see formless mana, invisible to humans. Reisi looked faintly surprised. "I know you're there. You can come out now."

"I suppose it's useless to try hiding from a Servant this close without Presence Concealment." Archer materialized when he said that. He had already switched to his battle attire and held a golden bow in his left hand. Lancer immediately materialized his armor and weapon. He lazily rested his spear against his right shoulder.

He was looking the Servant up and down. "Judgin' from your appearance, you must be Servant Archer."

"And you must be Lancer." The centaur materialized three arrows in his right hand.

Lightning came down out of nowhere, pausing the fight about to break out. Lancer recognized it and snarled. "You've _gotta_ be shittin' me!"

Rider was in his battle clothes and driving his chariot. At his side was Tenkei. Behind them were the Green Master and Servant. Nagare was being carried by Saber. The Servant was wearing armor and a helmet.

The chariot came to a stop on the edge of the roof. Rider grinned at Archer. "I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors!"

Archer's eyes widened a little in brief surprise. Reisi glanced at the Servant. "Do you know him?"

"...No. I've never met him personally. But I'm shocked he would willingly give out his True Name. He must be devoid of secrets regarding his death to keep."

"I thought you said I'll have a Servant all to myself and Rider'll remain at base," Saber said, a hint of a whine in her voice.

"While I did say you'll have the chance to go one-on-one with a Servant, I never said Rider will stay back. You made that up yourself," Nagare replied. Saber tsked.

"Archer, abandon the Holy Grail and become a part of my army," Rider said. "I'll even let your Master go."

"What?!" Tenkei exclaimed. "You can't just make decisions like that without consulting me first - Ow!" Rider had just flicked him on the forehead, making him fall down on the chariot's floor.

Archer got ready to fire at the large king. "Sorry to say, but I'll decline your offer."

Nagare looked at his Servant. "Pick which Servant to fight. The three of us will stay out of it."

"I'll take on the mutt then. He should make this fun considerin' he made ya fall back." She was looking right at Rider and probably had a shit-eating grin when she said that. Lancer didn't look super pissed. Only calling him a dog specifically is what must rile him up.

"You'll never let me hear the end of that, will you..? I told you I underestimated him is all!"

"Whatever you say." She pointed her sword at Lancer. "I'll show you the right way to kill a Servant!"

The straightjacket over Nagare burst. His hair, skin, and clothes turned bright white. His green left eye was revealed. The right remained blue. Green electricity crackled around his form. Saber set him down and he was standing up. "Let's start this part of the game."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Misaki was walking along the sidewalk. He had some errands to run. That's when he noticed something. He hid in an alley and called Izumo over his watch.

_"What is it, Yata?"_

"I just spotted a couple Blues here in Shizume."

_"Now why would they be here..?"_

"I don't think their reason matters! It's _our_ territory they're strollin' around in!"

_"Just calm down. I'll contact Seri and tell her to get the Blue King to make his Clan withdraw."_

"And if that doesn't work?"

_"Ya know what'll come next. Just wait for me to tell ya what to do."_

"Just hurry up. I'm itchin' to kick some ass!"

_"Don't do anything stupid right now."_

Misaki sputtered. "Stu -" The call ended. "Dammit!" He peeked out at the officers. They seemed to be looking for something. But what? The skateboarder was really wanting to throw down. After what felt like forever, Izumo called.

_"Yata, I just got off the phone with Seri. We're gonna fight. I'll send ya the location."_

Misaki grinned and came out of hiding. "I'll be right there!" He was about to take off on his skateboard when a voice got his attention.

"How nice to see you, Misaki!"

Misaki's shoulders tensed and he glared at the speaker. "I told you before to stop calling me that, Monkey."

Saruhiko walked over to the sidewalk Misaki was on with a smirk. "I forgot that you hate being called your first name, Misaki."

"I'm warning you: cut it out."

"Didn't we used to be on a first-name basis, Misaki?"

"That was before you betrayed HOMRA by joinin' the Blues."

"What can I say? In the end, I was nothing like you guys."

"You're right about that." Red aura burned around Misaki. "And you'll never by welcomed by HOMRA again, especially not by me you bastard."

Hurt appeared on Saruhiko's face so briefly that Misaki told himself he only imagined it. "And why would I want to return to some ragtag group of thugs? You should've joined SCEPTER 4 with me."

"I'd sooner die. And quit talkin' shit 'bout HOMRA before I flatten you."

Saruhiko grinned. "I'd like to see you try, Misaki." He unsheathed his saber. "Fushimi, ready."

Misaki dropped his skateboard by his feet. "Let's find out just how good the Blue Clan's health insurance is."

"At least we have it -" Saruhiko cut himself off when he looked to the sky. "Wait..."

Misaki followed Saruhiko's gaze and gasped, his aura dissipating. "That's..!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Fighting between the Red and Blue Clans was suddenly put on halt when everyone saw those giant objects in the sky.

The cigarette dropped from Izumo's mouth, which was open a little in amazement. "What?!"

"Four Swords?!" Seri exclaimed with a gasp. "But that means...Captain!"

"Lancer...You'd better continue to keep King safe..." Tatara murmured. Anna's grip on his hand grew tighter.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Reisi chuckled. "It seems we're in a tight spot."

"Looks like we'll need to team up," Mikoto said. "This is only temporary, Munakata. We'll go back to bein' enemies tomorrow."

"I hate to admit it, but you're right."

Mikoto looked at the Red and Blue Servants. "And you guys?"

Lancer sighed. "Fine. I'll play nice with you tonight, Archer."

"Your decision is mine, Master."

"There's too little space up here," Nagare murmured.

Tenkei chuckled. "I'll fix that. Rider!"

A few bolts of lighting caused Reisi, Mikoto, and their two Servants to jump from the roof to the hazy street below. The Servants hit the ground first, landing softly. Their Masters, being Kings, landed safely but hit the ground hard.

Archer was looking around at the fog quickly building. "What's going on?!"

Lancer was snarling as he pointed up to the grey Sword of Damocles in the sky. "A cheap trick from the Grey King. A Servant's heightened sense of smell is useless in it. I believe Assassin would be a better partner for him, considerin' how he fights."

The fog from Tenkei's Sanctum was keeping cars off the street due to the reduced visibility. Lancer was about to go to his Master's side, but blocking Saber's attack stopped him. "We're gonna play together." He jumped away with astounding speed in case she was going to attack again.

While the urge to fight by his Master's side was still there, he felt that it's easier to ignore this time. _I have faith that you'll make it outta this alive, Mikoto._ He held his spear up with both hands to block another sword swing. The shockwave created a trail of broken concrete behind the spearman and ended with the wall of the building behind him being obliterated.

He grinned. "I ain't some shitty third-rate Servant!"

A laugh from Saber was heard under the helmet. "I'm glad. Let's have some fun!"

Reisi and Mikoto jumped to the sides in time to dodge a charge from Rider with his chariot. They had to use their powers to boost their speed; the vehicle came at them quickly. "Archer! I leave Rider to you!"

"Understood, Master!" Archer fired a few arrows cloaked in a blaze of golden mana at the feet of the bulls. They each caused large explosions as soon as they hit the pavement, scaring the animals away from the two humans.

"What is this?! There hasn't been a Grey King since Seigo Ootori, who's dead!" Reisi exclaimed.

"That's because he _is_ Ootori," Mikoto replied. "But he's goin' under the name Tenkei Iwafune. That's why there hasn't been a new one in the 13 years since he supposedly died. In any case, we need to get outta this fog. He has a huge advantage in here."

Reisi laughed a little. "Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing."

Both men took off together to try escaping the fog, auras blazing around them to increase their speed. A green bolt crashed into the auras and made the Kings halt.

"I don't think so!"

Mikoto grit his teeth. "Back the fuck off, Hisui!" He threw a punch roaring with flames at the Green King. He countered with a slash of thick, green aura. A bang was heard and Reisi used his sword to deflect a bullet aimed at the back of Mikoto's head. He tried to conjure up an inferno under Nagare, but the man vanished in the blink of an eye, the fire engulfing empty air.

"Speedy fucker!" the Red King ground out.

"Keep calm," the Blue King told him.

Saber moved her head to the side, the thrown crimson spear of the other knight sailing past it with enough power behind it to drill a large hole through two buildings and to severely damage a wall of a third building while imbedding itself in the stone.

The other knight jumped at him. "Stupid!"

He held out his right hand to his demonic weapon. "Come!"

"Go to hell, bastard!" Saber shouted while swinging her sword at Lancer's neck. "What?!"

The demigod had grabbed her wrist to stop the attack. There was a flash of red as Gáe Bolg returned to the man's right hand. He then swung the spear down on the helmet over Saber's head. Saber's helmet, Secret of Pedigree, collapsed into her armor as she used Mana Burst, the sudden blast of magical energy from her body and sword allowing her to break out of the spearman's grasp and jump back.

Mikoto was beginning to breathe hard from blocking and dodging Nagare's attacks. Reisi noticed this. "Are you alright, Suoh?"

Mikoto scoffed. "Don't ya start worryin' 'bout me, Munakata. I still have plenty of fight left in me." To prove this, he blocked another attack from the Green King.

Reisi was about to say something when he suddenly had to block four bullets. There was a clatter of empty shells hitting the road. "Kid, you shouldn't forget about me. While Nagare's playing with the Red King, why don't we have some fun?"

Crimson lightning exploded from Clarent. Saber brought the sword down. Lancer jumped up in time to avoid the magical energy but immediately had to block the armored knight's attack when she suddenly appeared in front of him. Their feet hit the wall of a building and Saber began running up it after Lancer. They were behaving as if they were running on the ground. Servants aren't as heavily bound to the laws of physics as living things. As such, changing how much the planet's gravitational pull affects them so they can determine how hard they hit the ground or being able to stand on walls or water comes as naturally as breathing.

Tenkei was still hiding in the fog while attacking Reisi. "You and Habari, all you Blue Kings do is preach about bringing world peace. How much do you get paid to be that naïve?"

"I don't see anything wrong with wanting to bring about order," Reisi replied while launching a crest of blue aura with his saber at where he believed the older man to be. It only hit empty road.

"Y'know, I really hate overly idealistic people like you."

"And why's that?" Reisi knocked away another bullet with his saber.

"You people are too wide-eyed, unaware of reality. This world's cruel and unforgiving."

"But it can still be changed for the better!"

A laugh. "And what about human nature? How many lives will end up being lost in this struggle? How much hate will have built up? It's all gonna come out in a way that'll just cause even more suffering. Hatred only breeds more hatred! On the battlefield, there's no such thing as victory. Just sorrow for the defeated and those prospering off that. And the whole thing starts all over again, making it so that the cycle will never end. That's the reason humanity will never change. True peace will never exist! Just accept that fact."

Mikoto chuckled. "Ya must really like to hear yourself talk, Iwafune."

"I'm only saying the truth, Suoh. Besides, don't you agree with me?"

"I admit that while I'm not an idealist, I'm not as cynical as you."

"You both are still too young."

Reisi suddenly unleashed a wave of his aura. "That's enough out of you!" The fog encicling a large area around him dispersed. "Damn, only some of it?" The missing fog started to slowly be replaced.

"Too much for you to eliminate, huh?"

Reisi looked at the Red King. "Suoh! I need your help!"

Mikoto was currently holding out against Nagare. The redhead's right arm was bleeding somewhat. "As much as I'd love to show ya up, I'm a little busy right now!"

There were multiple explosions as Rider's lightning took out several of Archer's arrows. The Servant kept evading the bulls trying to charge him and rapidly firing arrows at the enemy Servant simultaneously. Only a few actually hit. Rider winced each time due to the fact those arrows cause increased pain to whoever they hit. He quickly pulled them out, the wounds starting to close due to his own healing.

Lancer was higher than Saber and facing her. Both were in the air over a tall building. Lancer thrust his spear out at the other knight and the beam of red mana that came forth slammed into her and forced her all the way through the building all the way to the bottom, taking place in a fraction of a second. This just shows, like human bodies, modern structures are much too fragile. Nothing like they were in B.C, the Age of the Gods. Red magical energy from the attack crackled from the hole and the cloud of dust and debris.

A wall of the building burst as Saber busted through it before Lancer could attack that spot again. Her white-and-red armor showed some damage, but her own healing repaired it. The metal from her helmet reformed around her head for added protection.

The Grey and Blue Kings were fighting close-quarters, Reisi's saber meeting the butt of Tenkei's revolver. Sparks of both grey and blue aura flew with each clash.

"Do you believe your moping will change what happened in 1999?!" Reisi demanded.

Tenkei looked taken aback. "What?!"

"The Damocles Down of former Red King Genji Kagutsu wiped out CATHEDRAL, the Grey Clan. Seigo Ootori was also said to have died in the disaster. That incident was what must've changed you, and you now go under a different name to reflect that."

"When I win the Holy Grail, I can bring back those I lost. I won't allow you to get in the way. I'll kill you to make my wish come true!"

The Blue King smirked. "You and the Green King seem close. Will you also kill him for your wish?"

The Grey King's eyes went wide before he returned to glaring. "I see no reason to answer someone who'll die soon!"

Strings of crimson lightning began sparking from the weapons of both Saber and Lancer as more magical energy was put into them for their attacks. Saber jumped away when Lancer slashed at her neck, a crest of blood-red mana slicing all the way through a building that was behind her. This caused the entire structure to collapse.

"Get back here!" Lancer roared as he went after the blond.

There was a shrieking moo. A rain of arrows from Archer came down from the heavens on the two bovines pulling Rider's chariot. The lightning made the projectiles miss the heads of both animals, where their spirit cores are, but caused one to get a back full of arrows and the other somehow got hit in the tendons of its legs. Until the wounds heal, it can't move.

Before Rider could react, Archer landed in the chariot next to him. It only took a few moments, but Archer's high skill in hand-to-hand combat got the centaur to wrestle the king onto the road. The harsh impact would stun the redhead for a second of two. With the lightning gone, Archer could use Antares Snipe to hit the other Servant in the spirit core. He had just started to raise his hand to point at Sagittarius when he suddenly had to use his bow to block Rider's sword strike. It took him less than a second to recover, faster than the centaur predicted. He jumped away to avoid a really powerful swing.

In the fog, a bullet was shot at Reisi's blind spot. The man was sweating from exhaustion. An arrow from Archer took it out. He was able to enhance his vision, something all Archers can do. That's how he was able to see it.

"Thank you, Archer!" the Blue King said quickly before enduring yet another assault. Just how many bullets does the Grey King have?!

Both wild animals were ferociously striking at each other. Their weapons were swung too fast to be followed with the human eye. Really, only what looked like vermilion winds could be seen. Each clash brought up chunks of asphalt, all of which were instantly cut into pieces of dust.

"Just...fucking fade into nothingness!" Saber snarled at the other Servant.

Lancer barked a single laugh. He was actually having a lot of fun. This Servant was making him use more of his power, and he liked it. "Took the words right outta my mouth!" He managed to find a gap in the weapon swings and kicked the Knight of the Round Table in the gut so hard that a trail of the street was torn up where she was skimming over and she crashed through the brick wall of a building hundreds of meters away.

Crimson lightning burst from the hole in the building a second after it was created and a shout was heard. "I'll fucking kill you!" Saber jumped out onto the street and her helmet once again broke apart into her armor with her spitting out a little blood while glaring daggers at Lancer. She held her sword firmly with both hands. A red tower of pure hatred and mana came from the sword, reaching to the heavens.

Lancer grinned. This large amount of mana, she's clearly about to unleash her Noble Phantasm. "Bring it on!"

"Clarent... [Rebellion Against]"

_'Saber, stop!'_

She tsked. _'What for, Master!? I was just about to kill this guy!'_

_'Take a second to calm down. Mr. Iwa and I are in your Noble Phantasm's line of fire. Given its range, it could end up hitting us.'_

The red tower went away. _'...Understood.'_ Her helmet was rebuilt.

The knight in blue and silver actually looked disappointed. "Wait, so your not gonna use it? That's stupid."

"I'm aware."

Nagare flashed at Tenkei's side. The young man was panting.

"I apologize, Mr. Iwa, but I'm at my limit." The electricity crackling from him vanished.

"Now I got ya bastard!" Mikoto shouted as he rushed at the Green King, who had collapsed, while launching a blazing fist. The attack hit a shield of fog and bounced off. It's the Grey King's ultimate defense.

"I don't think so!" Then Tenkei looked at Nagare, who was struggling to remain conscious. "I'll call Rider and Saber back."

The Treacherous Knight was exchanging blows with the Red Branch Knight when Tenkei's voice broke into her head.

_'This took longer than we expected. As a result, you Master needs to recharge on power. My fog's defending him, but I'm now fighting alone against two Kings. It seems fighting separately was a bad choice.'_

_'If Rider and I fought by you two, we'd need to watch our attacks so we don't accidentally hit you. Wait, are you saying to retreat?!'_

_'I am.'_

_'And right when I'm having a lot of fun against this Servant! You really do deserve the name Tenkei!'_

_'Hardy har har. Just stop whining and fall back.'_

_'Alright, but only for Master's sake.'_

_'I don't care why you'll do it, just do it!'_

"Sorry, Lancer, but we'll need to play later."

"What?!"

"It was entertaining. Try to make it fun again next time too! Stay alive until then." With that, Saber jumped back and dematerialized.

"Shit..." Then Lancer began talking to his Master telepathically. _'Saber just retreated. What's goin' on?'_

_'Her Master collapsed and Iwafune fell back with him. Archer reported Rider doin' the same.'_

_'So what now? Do we chase after 'em?'_

_'We don't even know where to find 'em. Let's just head back to the bar for now.'_


	6. Red vs. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conflict breaks out among those who were allies the other night.

In the church, Ruler was currently on the phone. "They damaged part of Shizume!? What were they even thinking?!...Very well, Mr. Prime Minister. We'll cover the cost for repairs."

The holy maiden hung up the phone then plopped down in a pew, sighing and placing her forehead in one hand. "Well, at least the buildings damaged had no people in them at the time. Still, those Kings and Servants need to be careful. They might not be that lucky next time..." While it's normally the Gold Clan cleaning up these messes, for the Grail War it's the Holy Church.

_"Well, I guess it's to be expected of a Grail War. I've never seen one before, but I know it can get out of hand unless someone's there to oversee it."_

"I know, Laeticia. But this is supposed to be a small-scale war. They came close to involving outsiders last night. Still, until they do, punishment can't be doled out."

The human Ruler's possessing the body of, Laeticia, is a member of the Holy Church. She was transferred to Japan from France to oversee the Holy Grail War. In truth, her transfer was accepted because she allowed Jeanne to inhabit her body since the Holy Grail didn't create a Saint Graph for the blond because she's an Extra Class.

Jeanne and Laeticia are able to switch who's in control of the body, though it's usually the holy maiden who's currently in control. Also, Jeanne covers Laeticia like a spiritual exoskeleton so any damage the Servant suffers is not reflected onto the host.

Ruler sighed. "Now what cover story will we use?"

* * *

Assassin materialized in the Chamber of the Slate, the room where the Dresden Slate's held. Inside was his Master. "Here is my report of what I observed of the fightin' last night. The ones fightin' were the Red, Blue, Green, and Grey Kings along with their four Servants. Red and Blue were fightin' together against Green and Grey, who were also allied. All I know about three of the Kings as far as names go are their surnames."

"It's okay. I know who they are."

"Apparently the Grey King Seigo Ootori changed his name to Tenkei Iwafune. Thought ya should know since the Blue King needed to be told."

"Thank you for the information. What about their Servants?"

"All three Knight Classes and one Cavalry Class. Saber is with the Green King, Lancer with the Red, Archer is with the Blue, and Grey has Rider. I only discovered one True Name." That got Daikaku's attention. Assassin snickered before continuing. "Rider shouted it. His name's Iskandar, also known as Alexander the Great."

The Gold King laughed heartily. "Shouting his True Name, what Servant would do that?!" He stopped laughing. "Any casualties?"

"No deaths. The Green and Grey Master-Servant pairs withdrew after the Green King suddenly collapsed and stopped producin' green electricity. I don't know what caused this, though I believe I heard him mention a limit."

"Interesting...That brat must have a weakness that I didn't get to see...Anything else?"

"The Grey King's Sanctum produces dense fog. This makes it difficult for even a Servant to make out details within without having a special skill. I heard Lancer say that even a Servant's sense of smell is useless within. Saber was about to use her Noble Phantasm. That giant column of red mana was hard to miss."

"'About'?"

"She stopped before she finished sayin' its True Name. I assume her Master probably did somethin' to stop her. All she got out was 'Clarent'." The Servant groaned in annoyance. "I just wanna go out there 'n fight, not scout the competition."

"Your parameters are low, even with your Cultural Sphere boost. You must gather information on the Servants in order to stand a chance of fighting them."

Assassin was pissed. "Don't look down on me!"

"You know though that I'm right," Daikaku replied calmly. "That's why you observed the battle last night instead of jumping into the fray."

The swordsman's reply was a simple "tsk!" Then he looked at his Master, gripping the handle on one of his two katanas hard. "So we'll make a move soon?"

"Yes, I'll let you have your fun in due time."

* * *

_Tatara had been warned time and time again that hanging around Mikoto would only get him killed. He refused to listen. And so he was almost killed._

_Over six years ago, Mikoto managed to get in debt with a group of thugs. They cornered him, Izumo, and Tatara in a back alley, intent on giving some punishment to Mikoto, who hadn't paid them back when he should've. So the three decided to make a break for it._

_Some of the assholes were attempting to block the escape route out of the alley. Izumo went on ahead to take them out while Mikoto and Tatara were running, using the escape route Izumo opened. Four men were going after the two. There was the bang of a gun going off and Mikoto suddenly felt excruciating pain in his right shoulder, falling forward. Tatara stopped, looked back at the redhead clutching the gunshot wound, and gasped._

_"King!"_

_The man holding the gun smirked as he and the other three walked forward. "Got 'im."_

_Tatara, body moving on its own, ran out in front of Mikoto to stand between him and the approaching men. His arms were out wide. "I won't let you have him!"_

_"Totsuka, these guys are only after me! Just forget me and run away with Kusanagi! I'll handle this on my own!" Mikoto said through grit teeth._

_"No way. I swore to serve you and that's what I'll do!" was Tatara's firm reply._

_"Dammit, Totsuka! That's an order!" Tatara actually winced. That was the first time Mikoto had ever yelled at him. And he actually sounded a little scared. But the boy refused to move._

_"Move, kid." All four men had stopped and four guns were pointed at Tatara. "Unless ya wanna be shot dead?"_

_Tatara visibly trembled but still refused to move. Mikoto's eyes went wide as the triggers were pulled._ 'He's gonna die!'

_At that thought, heat suddenly exploded from deep in his body, enough to distract from the pain of the wound, and magenta flames sprung out of the ground in front of Tatara to instantly incinerate the fired bullets that came into contact. Surprise caused Tatara to stumble back and fall on his butt._

_Izumo came running out to where his two friends were. "I heard a gun go off! Are you al -" He cut himself off with a gasp. "What...the hell...is_ that _thing?!" He was staring up at the sky._ _There was now a giant red sword over them._

_Tatara was staring at Mikoto, who was slowly starting to stand. Flames were blooming all over his body. "King...What happened to your eyes?" Amber irises now glowed white-red._

_"Totsuka, you really need to get away from me! I can't control it!" At those words, balls of fire from the blaze sprung out, some nearly hitting Tatara. Izumo grabbed Tatara's arm when he deemed it safe, but was nearly incinerated by a sudden wave of flames on the retreat._

_"What about King?!" Tatara demanded._

_Izumo was pulling Tatara back several steps back. Both were sweating heavily due to the intense heat coming from Mikoto, even with several meter's distance having been put between them and the redhead. The four men had already fled with their tails between their legs. "We can't approach him right now! He'll need to cool down somehow!"_

_"Why is this happening?!"_

_"I'd love to know that as well!"_

_For Mikoto, all this power, it felt amazing! He felt like he could do anything! But...it also scared him. "What's happening with me?!"_

_He looked forward and saw someone with a yellow rabbit mask before him._ _The person seemed to have no problem with standing only a meter away from Mikoto. "Red King, you must restrain your power."_

 _"Red...King..?" The redheaded teen murmured._ _"Do you know how I can control this power?!"_

_"Calm down first. That will allow you to manage it."_

_Mikoto took a deep breath as he forced his racing mind to settle down. He_ _had managed to rein in the flames, but it still felt like his body was on fire. In the sky, the giant sword vanished._

_"Mikoto, do ya have control over it now?" Izumo tried to put his hand on his friend's shoulder, but ended up snapping it back. The fabric of his school uniform felt as hot as the turned-on burner of a stove! "Fuck!"_ _His palm was already turning red._

_"Sorry, it looks like I'm not in total control."_

_"Either way, we should get you to a hospital," Tatara said. The gunshot wound on Mikoto's shoulder was still there._

_The man with the rabbit mask shook his head. "I'm afraid with the current situation he'll need to be taken to a hospital that deals with victims of supernatural events."_

_Izumo just blinked at the man. "Huh? But his wound was dealt by a gun."_

_"And how will the reason his body's as hot as an open fire right now be explained?"_

Lancer was asleep right now. The demigod was laying horizontal on the couch by the window. One hand was slung over his stomach, the other behind his head, and he was snoring, not loudly but it was noticeable. He really looked like someone without a single care in the world.

"He looks so defenseless," Rikio murmured. "Wait, Yata! What're you doing?!"

Misaki was holding a marker. "He's asleep right now! We have to take advantage of this opportunity!"

"He'll get pissed at you," Tatara warned.

"Will he? The only time I've seen him get pissed was when Dewa called him a dog." He started to lean in to the sleeping wolf's face. He seems to be fearless towards this spirit now.

Lancer's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Misaki's wrist, the one with the marker. He couldn't free himself from such a strong grip. One crimson eye opened and was fixed on the skateboarder. "I wouldn't do that if I were ya."

Misaki was white as a sheet and was sweating heavily. "You-you've got the wrong idea! I wasn't about to do anything!"

"Don't think I'm so defenseless if I fall asleep. Jeez, Scáthach made damn sure that Ferdiad and I could wake up easily."

"Were ya havin' a nice dream, Lancer?" Eric asked. "Ya certainly looked to be sleepin' soundly enough."

"I was havin' a dream of when Mikoto first became Red King."

"That was just when I awakened as the new Red King," Mikoto put in. "I only accepted the role when Mitsuha Kurayama, who idolized Kagutsu, came after me. He said it would be easy since, even though I'm a King, I had no control over the power and thus I had refused to use it. Killing a King would be proof of his power."

"You aren't having any weird dreams from when you were alive, right Lancer?" Tatara asked, knowing how bad Lancer's first life was. It may have been full of glory, as the Servant would say, but it also had quite a bit of sadness.

"I'm not. Servants lack the function to dream our own dreams. That's why if we do get a dream, we know right away it's from our Master."

"So...you guys don't have a chance to be happy or sad while asleep..."

"Sorry to disappoint, Tatara, but I'll remind ya we're not alive. We're just spirits in Saint Graphs - temporary vessels to reside in."

"Oh...I see..."

"So who's this Scáthach person ya mentioned?" Rikio asked.

"Scáthach was my teacher durin' my time in the Land of Shadows." The demigod rubbed the back of his neck. "She always referred to me by my childhood name, Sétanta, since I was just a pup in her eyes."

Rikio cocked his head in confusion. "Sétanta? It wasn't always Cú Chulainn?"

"My name was changed to Cú Chulainn after I strangled the blacksmith, Culann's, guard dog." He looked embarrassed when he received a lot of deadpan stares and rubbed the back of his neck. "It was the adrenaline, alright! That thing was tryin' to kill me!"

"And how old were you?" Kousuke asked slowly.

Lancer scratched his head. "Pretty young. I think around Anna's age, maybe younger."

"You were around 11?!"

Mikoto took a drink of whiskey. "Ya should've also mentioned that dog had the strength of 10 men and ya took it down easily even at that age."

The other boys were giving Lancer a weird look. Finally, Kousuke spoke up once again. "Like I said...When you were around 11..."

Anna spoke up. "So what was it like in the Land of Shadows?" She was looking forward to hearing a good story.

"It wasn't easy. It was trainin' from hell, but there were some enjoyable times, some involvin' the drill sergeant herself. Turned out, Scáthach has a bit of a clumsy streak. There was one time, durin' a rune demonstration for me and Ferdiad, she was tryin' not to fall asleep since she didn't sleep well the other night. She intended to use Ansuz, but cast water instead of fire and got thoroughly soaked! That definitely woke her up, and she gave us a good beatin' since we were laughin' at her.

And another time, we were sparin' against her outside to teach us how to use the environment to our advantage in a fight, she didn't realize she had gotten too close to a tree. When she sidestepped Ferdiad's attack, she slammed into it. The best part was that a few spiders landed on her. She's a bit arachnophobic, so she screamed at the top of her lungs! Kinda weird since she lives in a castle. Ferdiad and I shared a good laugh at her expense, but we remembered to wait until she stormed off.

There was also that time when Ferdiad and I came back from a hunt and Scáthach tried to prepare the meat. It turns out one of the demonic boars wasn't quite dead and it headbutted her. Ferdiad and I couldn't hold back our laughter at seeing her shocked expression and we both received a fist in the face."

"Sounds like you and Ferdiad were pretty close," Rikio said, not knowing what happened later.

Lancer looked down and smiled softly. "Yeah...We became best friends and even close as brothers in the Land of Shadows..." Then he quickly went outside. The hound's shoulders were hunched and he wasn't showing his face.

Rikio looked confused. "Did I say somethin' wrong? He seemed upset."

Izumo sighed. "You weren't in the bar when Mikoto said Lancer drunk mentioned he killed his best friend and I told him he killed Ferdiad in the war with Connacht."

"Wait, why did it happen?!" Misaki demanded.

"Lancer was Ulster's strongest fighter. No one in Connacht could defeat him. So Medb, the queen of Connacht, eventually got Ferdiad after a lotta bridin' and goadin' to fight the guy in the hopes of trippin' him up...I've already said what the outcome was."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

On the sidewalk, there was a man holding the hand of a happy-looking little boy. Lancer suddenly felt something building in his eyes as he thought of something in his past that could've been. It was the only time other than before he died that his wife pleaded for him not to fight. It would've been best to listen to her.

He continued walking away with a snarl, ripping out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and quickly used Ansuz to light it. "Shit..!" _Why did that have to happen? I could've had someone to call me Father._

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"He also killed his only son..." Anna said sadly. "I saw that he still feels guilty about it."

"He thought Connla was a random challenger in Ulster...He only found out his name's Connla was after he used Gáe Bolg and the boy was dyin'...It was the name he asked Aife to give to their son..." Izumo murmured. "Poor guy was inconsolable for a few days...Apparently, that was an instance that his wife tried to stop him. She probably had a feelin' of who that boy was."

* * *

Neko decided to use her day off from school to take Caster walking around Shizume. Caster was reluctant to use her Shapeshift skill to change her form, so option 2 had to be used. The Servant was wearing modern clothes. Neko's ability as a Strain is sensory interference, so she created an illusion to everyone looking at the pink-haired Servant that she doesn't have fox ears or a fox tail. Though the fox hasn't seen it, it turns out the girl with the silver-pink hair can use it on herself to appear as a cat.

It was time for lunch and both of them were currently at an outside food court. A girl ran up to the table.

"Sorry I'm late, Neko! Wait, who's this?"

"Kukuri! I'd like you to meet Caster, an overseas friend of mine! Caster, this is Kukuri Yukizome!"

The Servant extended one hand for a handshake. "I'm glad to meet you, Ms. Yukizome. Call me Caster."

She took Caster's hand. "It's alright to call me Kukuri. A friend of Neko's is a friend of mine! It's a pleasure to meet you, Caster!"

Another girl walked up to Kukuri. "I have to go now."

"An emergency?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna eat at Homra! One of my friends texted me that there's a smoking hot new waiter there! I've gotta check it out!"

"Ok, Sumika. I'll just stay here. Have fun!"

"You were never as focused on guys as I am," Sumika said as she walked away.

"I take it she puts boys before friends?" Caster asked Kukuri.

"Don't let it bother you too much. She's actually a nice person!"

While the three were eating, a rukus started up that got everyone's attention. It seems a black-haired young man got into an argument with another young man at the food stand. Eventually, the person he was yelling at backed away.

"I wonder who he is?" Neko murmured, referring to the one with the black hair in a ponytail and amber eyes.

Caster stiffened and grabbed the Strain's arm protectively, whispering, "Careful, Neko. I can see an inhuman amount of mana from that guy; he's a Servant! We gotta go!" Then she smiled at Kukuri and spoke at a normal volume. "I'm sorry, Kukuri, but we need to leave now."

Kukuri looked surprised. "Huh? That's sudden. Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow, Neko!"

Neko waved at her. "Yep!"

Caster grit her fangs as she led Neko away from there. It would've been bad news if the Servant spotted -

_'Don't brother tryna sneak away. I've already seen ya.'_

Amber eyes went wide. Then she snarled. _'So will you try to kill me?'_

_'I'd love nothin' more, but there are too many witnesses who'd see the bloody remains of your body before they fade. They'd freak the fuck out. In that case, the old man'd get pissed at me.'_

_'Who says I'd be the one killed?'_

_'It's the obvious result. Ya shouldn't underestimate me. But scram 'fore I lose my self-control.'_

* * *

Heels hit the wood tiles of the bar as Anna ran to Lancer. He was sitting in a barstool by his Master, both having a drink. The place was empty except for those two and Izumo. The others were in various places throughout the city to track down some Strains who decided to pull some stunts. "Lancer, are you able to play with me now?"

He smiled at her. "Soon. I will when I'm done with my drink."

"Okay. I'll be up in my room."

As she hurried up the stairs, Mikoto chuckled. "I think you're on the way to becomin' Anna's best friend. She seems to like ya a lot."

"In that case, I won't ever disappoint her if I can help it. Sometimes ya don't really know what ya have 'till ya lose it. That's why ya shouldn't take thing like bonds for granted."

"You're speakin' from experience, aren't ya?'

Lancer shrugged. "Perhaps."

"What about the young ladies who keep lustin' after ya? Aren't those bonds ya should never take for granted?"

"Well, in a way. Wouldn't call 'em friends, but there can be a problem with women I favor. Aside from my wife, I've never had any luck with good women." He chuckled. "It usually ends up in a way where they want to see me dead or somethin' prevents me from seein' 'em ever again."

"What about men?"

"It's different, but the same idea, that I don't have luck with 'em. Whenever I decide I like a guy, I sometimes end up havin' to kill him. Like with Ferdiad."

"Oh..."

"Anyway, enough 'bout me for now. Since we're kinda on the subject, what kinda people are ya into?"

Mikoto rested his hands behind his head. "I don't have a preference for who I choose. Really anyone who doesn't constantly piss me off. What 'bout you?"

"I'm into strong-willed women. Emer really knew how to speak her mind and would occasionally give me a tongue-lashin' strong enough to whip me into my place if I did somethin' to worry or piss her off. Ain't nothin' hotter in my book."

"So basically tsunderes?"

"Not exclusively, though Emer was definitely one. Another who was my type, Scáthach, is more of an iron lady."

"Basically anyone who can beat ya down, physically or verbally," Mikoto summed up.

"Hey, they can also have some soft spots. That's what makes it rewardin'. I'm sure Emer was devastated when she got the news that I was killed. She loved me a lot. But I'm really surprised I lived as long as I did. It might've gotten to the point where she believed it'd be impossible for me to die in battle. Well, that was kinda right. I was killed due to a low-blow plot that also involved killin' my friend since childhood and the horse who was my partner for many years."

"And you're able to keep smilin' despite knowin' that's how it ends for you?" the King asked.

Lancer grinned. "Well, yeah! I killed so many people, I'm pretty sure I was the source of so much grief. That day was my karma."

"I think somethin' may be wrong with ya mentally for ya to just write all that off..." Mikoto muttered. "But at least my partner isn't perpetually mopin'."

* * *

The Grey King and his Servant were drinking beer together. Yukari and Sukuna were arm wrestling, with Yukari winning. Saber was with her Master.

"We now know the Gold King's Servant is one of the Four Cavalry Classes," he was saying. "But we don't know which. We shouldn't attack the Tower until we do. It could be disastrous."

"Is stealing the Slate worth possibly dying?" Saber asked. "All I know about it is that it's a stone relic that grants you Kings power."

"It's the key to mankind's evolution. Judging by the Slate's power, it's most likely a relic from the Age of the Gods. During that time, it was common for people to have power akin to that of Kings thanks to the influence of Phantasmal Beasts and gods living alongside humans and mana being much more abundant, though it went down after 700 B.C. In A.D, the Age of Man, where people believe in science more than Mystery, this power is almost nonexistent. The amount of mana in the world has dwindled. The Phantasmal Beasts and other spiritual beings fled to the Reverse Side of the World to seek sanctuary. It's safe to say the Age of the Gods was the highest point of human evolution. I want to bring out something like that from B.C. onto the entire world. So I desire the Slate. I intend to release its power."

"Age of the Gods!" Kotosaka squawked. He was on Nagare's shoulder.

"You drank most of the beers in the fridge!" Tenkei exclaimed to his Servant. The Grey King was holding the refrigerator door open.

"I can't help that they taste good," Rider replied with a burp.

Tenkei ran a hand through his brown hair. "I can't believe you..! Yukari! Sukuna! Go out and buy another pack of beer!"

"What?!" Sukuna exclaimed.

"I'll also come up with a list of groceries to get while you're at it. I didn't realize how little we have in here."

"Are you kidding me?!" the boy shot back. "With the Gold King distracted with the Grail War, you can go out shopping yourself! Dammit!" Yukari just pushed the back of the kid's hand against the table.

"Don't talk back and just do it!" Tenkei said sternly.

Saber sweatdropped then turned her attention back to her Master. "So you don't have a wish for the Grail?"

Nagare smiled gently. "I was getting to that. The War itself is allowing me a chance to steal the Slate from the Gold King, who's restraining its power and preventing mankind's reevolution. If I succeed in getting it, I can bring back the Age of the Gods! However, it won't be sustainable for very long with the planet's current output of mana and we humans would turn the planet into an uninhabitable wasteland in no time. As such, my wish will be for the world to have a larger production of mana." He glanced at his Servant. "Are you okay with this plan?"

Saber grinned and punched into her hand. "Sounds reckless...I like it!"

* * *

Lancer peeked into Anna's room after knocking. He saw the little girl sitting on the floor, surrounded by stuffed animals.

"Whatcha doin' Anna?"

She looked up. "Oh, Lancer! I'm playing with my dolls. Please join me."

"Alright." He walked over and noticed her playing with a lion doll. "Who's that?"

She held up the lion. "This is Mikoto. He's the one in charge of all the other stuffed animals in the kingdom. I got this from Izumo during my 10th birthday last year."

"That's so cute! So that's supposed to represent the Red King?"

Anna nodded. "That's why I named him Mikoto."

He smiled and sat down to play with her. After some time, she spoke again.

"You shouldn't hate yourself. Like Mikoto, you're a nice person."

Blood-red eyes flicked to the Strain. "What makes ya think I hate myself?"

"Did you forget I can read emotions and minds? You might act happy, but you have quite a bit of pent-up resentment towards yourself."

Lancer was silent for a bit before speaking. "Ya said my red's pretty, like Mikoto's. What made ya say that?"

"There was an attempt to make me the Blue King, before Reisi awakened. I could 'sense' the Slate, so it was believed that I could connect to it to become King. Each time I tried to connect, the Slate pushed me away. Then I met Mikoto and connected to him. I saw his internal aura, but it's like it embraced me in its warmth instead of throwing me out. Since you have a strong link to Mikoto, I can feel your red as well, though not to the same degree, and it embraces me in warmth too. That's why to me, your red's pretty."

Lancer suddenly sensed someone nearby - he had gotten too wrapped up again with playing with Anna to notice - and looked over his shoulder at the door. "Tatara! When did ya come back?!"

"A little bit ago. I got Yata to take over my search area since he finished with his.

That's when he processed the fact the Clansman also had his camera. "Dude, seriously?" Lancer said as he gave Tatara an uncertain look. "You know how I feel 'bout bein' filmed."

"This is a great memory of you. Just pretend I'm not even here."

"Hard to do that now."

"Anna! Your omurice is ready!" Izumo called up.

"We can keep playin' when you're done," Lancer said to the Strain.

"Okay!" Anna dashed out of her room, going past Tatara who turned off the movie camera.

"By the way, Tatara," Lancer whispered as he passed the Clansman. "Ya might wanna work on concealin' that bruise on the left side of the back of your neck 'fore the others see it."

"Are you serious?! *sigh*...They think I'm dating a girl. I could say I got it from her. But I've told King over and over to be careful where he marks me so he doesn't put me in awkward situations!"

* * *

"...Thank you for the information." Izumo put his PDA away and looked at Mikoto, who was lounging on the couch by the bar's window. The other Clansmen had already returned to the bar. "I just found out where those drug-dealin' scumbags we've been tryin' to locate for almost a month are located."

"Good. Let's head out and deal with them."

Everyone in the bar was walking together down a sidewalk of the city. Anna was holding onto the hands of both Mikoto and Lancer, feeling safe between these two beasts. People were making an effort to stay out of their way. Of the group, Mikoto and Lancer definitely felt to be the most imposing with the violent air both of them gave off. The gang was talking about random things amongst themselves.

"Normal humans get knocked out so easily!" Lancer laughed. "Six thugs tried to take me on since I'm with HOMRA, but a simple smack to their faces with the back of my hand was all it took to take their lights out!"

"I've seen Mr. Mikoto knock people out that fast too!" Misaki told him while chuckling. "It was hilarious!"

"Fujishima, didja check out that new pet store that just opened?" Yõ asked Kousuke.

"Wait, there's a new one now?"

"I was lookin' to buy some scented candles, but the store I usually go to to get 'em cheap didn't have any in stock," Izumo said.

"You'd figure they'd order more if they were running low," Eric replied.

"Apparently they did. But they never got it. The weird thing is that they found the destroyed storage container holdin' the ruined remains in a field several dozen kilometers from the Shizume cargo pier. No one knows how it got there." Unnoticed by everyone else, Lancer looked away while blushing.

"I'll never tire of the mapo tofu at Kotomine's," Rikio said while rubbing his belly.

"I don't know how you can stand such spicy shit," Misaki said while sweatdropping.

"Seriously," Masaomi agreed. "That place is the reason I don't eat Chinese food."

They stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. "We're here," Izumo said.

A large blast of fire from the redheaded King tore the door down. He smirked. "Burn 'em."

The rest of the human Red Clan members minus Izumo, Tatara, and Anna pumped one fist in the air. "No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!" Only Mikoto, Lancer, Tatara, and Anna stayed by the hole that was created while the others raised hell.

Lancer made a face. "Ugh, this place reeks!"

Mikoto glanced at him. "Drugs?"

"That and these losers haven't taken a shower in a few days. You humans are lucky ya don't have such a sharp sense of smell."

Bullets tried to pelt the Master and Servant, but the bullets instantly melted when they were about to hit Mikoto due to his aura and Lancer's Personal skill knocked away the ones going at him. Since Tatara and Anna were behind the two, they remained protected.

Mikoto held out a hand, bullets about to hit his aura freezing in place. He brought that hand in then swung it out, the bullets being launched right back at the shooters.

A bat was suddenly swung at the back of Lancer's head. It failed to budge the spearman's head in the slightest and the object snapped on impact. Lancer casually backfisted the person into the wall and yawned. He was so bored here without other spiritual beings to fight!

Once the fighting left all the drug dealers groaning in pain, Saburouta decided to check one of the crates of the building to see how many drugs were stuffed inside one. Inside the crate, all he saw were random legal things. "The drugs might've been moved."

Lancer came over and materialized his spear. "No. I can smell 'em." He slashed the side of the crate and bags of cocaine came spilling out. "Here they are. Those things were just coverin' 'em."

The rest of the Clansmen and Mikoto began checking as well. "Oh boy, they have a lot here!" Tatara whistled. Then he looked up just in time to see a crossbow bolt fired at him. It sunk into his abdomen and he fell back.

"Mr. Totsuka!" Misaki shouted. He and the others dashed over to where the brunette lay.

"Fuck!" Lancer spat, unable to believe he didn't sense it before it was too late.

The shooter was wearing a black helmet with green lines, what the people who attacked yesterday were wearing. They lowered the crossbow and tried to escape. A whip of fire from Izumo's cigarette lighter snapped on the ground in front of the person, making them halt. "Don't you dare move."

Shouhei was gazing at Tatara with concern. "He'll be all right, won't he?"

"As long as we don't move the bolt, he should make it to the hospital." Izumo took out his PDA, but Lancer put a hand on his arm.

"I'm here, so ya don't need to bother." The spearman went to Tatara's side. "I'll fix ya, Tatara."

"You can close his wound in time?" his Master asked.

"There'll be a lot of blood, but it's a small wound. It won't take too long to heal." He sighed. "Sorry, pal. This is gonna hurt a lot." He held down Tatara's abdomen with one hand and quickly ripped out the bolt with the other. Tatara cried out in pain and blood began pouring out. Lancer activated his healing rune, a gentle green glow coming from the palm placed over the injury.

Lancer wasn't done. As soon as he tore the projectile out, he threw it point-first at the shooter. The bolt was hurled with enough force to impale the person through the left shoulder and pin them to the wall their back was facing, but not so hard that the wall would be destroyed. He narrowed his eyes at the victim and growled like a dog. He looked just as pissed as if he were called one. "You aren't going anywhere, you fucker!"

"I'm so sorry," Mikoto said to Tatara quietly so it would be hard for other Clansmen to hear. "If only I felt that killing intent earlier this wouldn't have happened."

Lancer stood up. "He's all healed now." Izumo was helping Tatara to his feet.

Izumo was staring at where Tatara's wound was. The young man had lifted his shirt up just enough to look at it. "Amazing! No scar or anything!" This must be why Lancer's devoid of scars on his body.

"Thanks, Lancer," Mikoto whispered to his Servant. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."

"No problem, though I am surprised to hear thanks comin' from ya," Lancer whispered back with a grin.

The King turned his narrowed gaze elsewhere. "It slipped out is all!"

Lancer walked casually to the person pinned to the wall. "I missed anythin' vital." He grinned and chuckled. "I may not have the sword Fragarach anymore, but this is a good second option for interrogation." Then he recognized the helmet. "You're the same as those shitheads who tried to kill me and Anna!"

"Actually, they were only after you," Izumo corrected.

Lancer glanced at him. "Whaddaya mean?"

"I got a disposable PDA and checked out JUNGLE's site. They have experience points called JUNGLE Points. At a certain amount of Points, your rank goes up. The ranks are each letter in the word 'jungle', with E bein' the lowest and J the highest."

"So what does this hafta do with me?"

"Points can be awarded for completin' missions. But certain people have a bounty on them. Killin' those people awards bonus Points." Izumo projected something on the phone and showed it to Lancer. "Here's yours."

LANCER

HOMRA

500,000 JP

"There's none for Anna. So she would've been collateral damage...is what I'd like to say. But why did they choose then of all times to attempt to kill ya? Anna might've been involved somehow. Did they wanna capture her once she was alone? But maybe I'm overthinkin'. I'm still lookin' into it."

The spearman roughly yanked out the crossbow bolt. The person gave a scream before slumping to the floor in a sitting position. Mikoto was casually smoking a cigarette and smirking. This guy deserved the pain he was getting. "Look, I can heal that wound of yours, but you've gotta tell us what we wanna know first. And ya shouldn't waste time by bullshittin'. I can't help ya if ya bleed to death. I may not have Discernment of the Poor, but there's someone in the Clan who can see if you're spoutin' the truth."

Mikoto exhaled smoke. "You're up, Anna." The little girl ran up and looked at the guy through one of her red marbles. "So what was your goal?"

"A mission from JUNGLE is to kill Tatara Totsuka! That's all!" the man exclaimed.

Mikoto glanced at the Strain. "Is he tellin' the truth?"

She put her marble away. "He's telling the entire truth of what he knows."

"Now will you heal me?!" The man shouted at Lancer. Blood had already drenched much of his shirt.

The demigod placed a hand over the impalement spot. "I haven't forgotten, so quit bitchin'." Once the wound closed, the Servant stood up. "There. Now I'll leave ya to the mercy of the others."

"What?! But you said -"

"I only said I'll heal the wound. I never said what'll happen after." He grinned widely as Misaki punched into his hand and even snickered a little at the thought of the punishment about to be doled out by the pissed Red Clansmen. "Have fu~n!" He waved at the person and rejoined the Clansmen currently not beating the shit out of the failed assassin.

"There are bounties for the core of HOMRA as well," Izumo said as he projected the screen of the phone again. "Here they are."

MIKOTO SUOH

HOMRA

100,000 JP

IZUMO KUSANAGI

HOMRA

6,000 JP

"In a mission to kill a bounty, the bounty reward is what the mission's worth. Like this one." He projected one more screen.

TATARA TOTSUKA

HOMRA

3,000 JP

"Totsuka may not fight, but he's still HOMRA's No. 3. That must be where the value comes from."

"So Lancer's the one with the most value to those assholes, huh?" Misaki summed up. He and most of the other Clansmen were done dealing punishment.

"Can't say the number surprises me. Most of it probably stems from his own spiritual makeup and power, but the Green King knows his True Name and probably looked at Lancer's legend to know what's bein' dealt with. What I believe is most notable about his first life is that he pretty much single-handedly fought in and _won_ a war. Ulster only came in after most of it was over due to a curse."

"Those details could've been exaggerated."

"Wouldn't matter. How people view a hero is how they get their power. In other words, Lancer is able to be just as dangerous as in the legend."

"There are two complications," the Servant broke in. "First, I'm only a weak copy of the full Heroic Spirit. Second, I would normally be a first-rate Servant, but I'm bein' hindered by my lack of fame here in Japan."

Izumo smirked. "He also went out in a pretty badass fashion. He wanted to die standin' up, so he used his own intestines to tie himself to a rock. _And_ he kept killin' enemies who got too close as well as cuttin' the hand off the guy who fatally wounded him even after kickin' the bucket."

Shouhei looked at Lancer in amazement. "Talk about refusin' to go down easy! Ya went out pretty violently!"

The Child of Light couldn't help but blush at all the attention he's receiving right now. "I'm in a younger form, so I don't have the Battle Continuation skill."

"Either way, I don't think ya know what 'give up' means."

"Well, yeah! What kinda hero would just up 'n quit?! I'd probably be the hardest Servant to kill in that form."

* * *

Ichigen and Kuroh were using wooden swords to spar each other, the latter wanting to sharpen his skills for the next time he encounters Yukari.

"I've made tea!" Berserker exclaimed cheerfully as she stepped out of the house. The blue-haired girl held a tray with three cups in her hands. The two men stopped what they were doing

"Ah, thank you," Ichigen said as he grabbed his cup.

Kuroh grabbed his own as Ichigen went to sit under a tree. The teen was staring at the dragon with a deadpan expression. "You didn't slip something in Master Ichigen's tea again, did you?" She had attempted that yesterday, but the Black Dog caught her in the act.

Berserker tried to look innocent at the accusation. "Of course not! Why would I do that?!"

"Don't play dumb! Well, did you?!"

"Of course I didn't!"

"Master Ichigen had better not show any negative reactions. If he does, you've lost all trust!"

* * *

Mikoto looked up when there were a few knocks on his bedroom door. "Come in." The person opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind. "Lancer. What is it?

"I'm here to talk to ya again 'bout our inner monsters." He sat down on the couch near the chair Mikoto was sitting in.

Mikoto just looked at him. "Oh...Last time ya said yours is called Riastrad?"

This talk about their inner conflicts started yesterday. Tatara talked him into going along with it, since he initially refused to do something like a therapy session. To tell the truth, he actually felt it to be calming to discuss this with someone in a similar situation. And he wasn't being told "this is what you should do" during it.

"Riastrad is constantly eatin' away at me, tryin' to get out. I gather it's the same with your power?"

"Yeah. Too much tends to come out if I get too emotional."

"Ya said yesterday that ya always feel like burnin' everything to the ground, right?"

"It feels like I'm bein' trapped in a cage and all I wanna do is break out and just run free."

"I know whatcha mean. Unfortunately, breakin' out means fully becomin' a monster. The cage is what's makin' us retain ourselves. It can really mess with ya if ya ain't mentally prepared for the consequences."

"I know."

Lancer's shoulders slumped and he sighed heavily. "In a battle durin' my first life, I came outta the cage a little. It was the second time Riastrad came out. But it wasn't an experience I'd like to have again. Some of my allies saw Riastrad durin' my rampage when I reached a part of our home and, well, their expressions screamed the fact I scared them shitless. They managed to make me return to normal, but that didn't erase from their memories the frightenin' thing they saw. I clearly remember the expressions of pure horror. The news spread throughout the Knights and some that I used to be friends with treated me like a monster. Let's face it, they're right to. Emer heard the news too. Although she didn't stop lovin' me, I could tell she was also somewhat afraid of me. I was lucky that she only cared about who someone is on the inside more than their outward appearance. But the mess happened all because I was furious at Connacht for killin' those kids. I warned 'em all that I'm a monster, but this still shocked even those who witnessed it the first time it happened years prior. It was worse than that time and I actually killed a few that I had fought to protect."

_"_ _Demon!"_

_"Freak!"_

_"Fomorian!"_

_"Monsters like you should return to where they belong!"_

_"Why does someone like you exist?!"_

_"You killed my brother! I'll never forgive you!"_

_I won't ask for it. I know that what I've done is unforgivable._

He kept enduring the verbal abuse, fully believing he deserved it. But even he can only put up with so much. Sometimes he wanted to go home and scream. Lancer took a deep breath, and another voice came into his head.

_"Don't listen to them. No matter what your appearance, deep down you're still the kind person I fell in love with."_

The Servant closed his eyes, a smile on his lips. _Thank you, Emer. Ya kept me from completely snappin'._ _If you didn't choose to stay with me, I might've fallen with no way back to the surface._

"Ya really believe that?" Mikoto asked, bringing Lancer back to reality. "Ya get along so well with the Clan and I can tell they all trust ya a lot. Would a monster be capable of that?"

"I could say the same for ya."

"It's different. I haven't lost control yet."

"Sounds about the same. You also have important things that ya wanna keep that beast away from. You're willin' to put up with the pain of holdin' it back if it means they stay safe."

Tatara's words echoed in Mikoto's head. _"If you have something precious close to you, then it becomes a power to protect."_

"I've already accepted Riastrad as a part of me. But I'm not gonna let it define who I am. I'm not a damn Fomorian!"

"Fomorian?"

"Monsters constantly at odds with the Tuatha Dé Danann, that my father's one of the kings of. His mother, Ethniu, is the daughter of Balor, a Fomorian leader. That means I also have a connection to them. That's why I have that 'issue'. But like I said, I won't let my blood take over who I am. I assume that ya aren't gonna let your power define you."

"I'm my own person," The Red King replied firmly.

The Servant grinned. "That's what I like to hear."

Both young men stood up to leave, but Lancer tripped over his own feet when he tried to turn around and ended up falling forward on his Master, knocking him onto his back on the floor. Their faces were only an inch apart.

Once this fact registered in his head, the spearman's heart was thumping hard against his ribcage. He quickly wrote off it happening because the two were almost close enough to kiss.

He quickly got off his Master. "S-sorry!" He extended a hand to help the redhead to his feet. _That was too close! Last thing I wanna do is get in between Mikoto and Tatara!_ He quickly looked back. Good. No one cracked the door open a little to peek into the room

He accepted the hand. But he also sensed that the demigod was trying to resist kissing him in that moment. "Lancer, I'm gonna keep stayin' with Totsuka. We love each other, him apparently enough to be willin' to sacrifice his own life for me, as ya saw."

"He's loved ya since back then?"

"He apparently had since before then. He only confessed after I awakened."

* * *

"Where's my favorite bowl?! I eat dinner with it every other day!"

"Don't you remember? You ate a snack out of it this afternoon," Caster reminded the Strain, fox ears flicking as she picked up a shrimp with her chopsticks. "I'm washing that and a bunch of other dishes. It'll be ready for use again tomorrow morning."

Neko was kicking her legs against the pillow. "I don't wanna wait that long! Why couldn't you have thrown it in the dishwasher?!"

"I've heard complaints that it doesn't get some of the dishes all the way clean every now and then, which forces the students to wash them again. This just feels faster."

Caster really reminded Adolf of his older sister, Klaudia Weismann, and how she'd take care of him. If only the Servant also scolded him as badly...

He noticed his Servant staring intently at him. "Is there something on my face?"

"So how is it? I made sure to fill yours with plenty of love."

Neko made a face like she's throwing up. "Love? It probably tastes awful then."

Caster remained smiling but materialized a spell tag. "Why don't you shut up before I use this curse to make roasted cat?"

* * *

Some of the Strains from last night had been found in an abandoned house. The must have fled there from Shizume. The Blue Clan had just finished arresting them. And since it was in their territory, no scuffles with another Clan broke out.

"Doumyouji seems to be worked harder than usual," Akira whispered, glancing at the ginger in question.

"Is he trying to impress someone?" Ren replied.

"Maybe, but who?" Then he remembered who Andy seemed to be looking up to a lot. "Wait, maybe Archer?"

Ren chuckled. "Who would've thought it'd take the Grail War to get him to act more seriously. Though he still has his hotheaded tendancies."

The mentioned Servant was helping load a Strain into the van when a voice came into his head. _'Hey, Archer!'_ That was Lancer. _'We're lookin' to challenge you and your Master._ _Come alone unless ya both want the other's gettin' involved. I'll let out more mana so ya can find me.'_

The centaur's face went a little stiff. He looked to Reisi, who was talking to Saruhiko. "Master. Come over here. I need to tell you something." The King walked over and Archer whispered what Lancer told him.

"Very well," the young man murmured when Archer finished. He looked to the rest of his men. "I need to do something right now. Archer will accompany me since it's night. The rest of you go on back."

"Captain?" Seri said in a questioning tone, watching her King and his Servant disappear into the night.

On the street, in the middle of some run-down houses, stood Lancer, in his Servant attire, and the Red King. Archer switched to his once they were out of sight from the others. Reisi smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "Now who wandered into another Clan's territory, hm?"

Mikoto ignored that jab. "Sorry, Munakata, it's nothin' personal, but I need ya to die so I can win...Before anyone else gets to ya first..." He whispered the last sentence.

"Who said I'll be the one to die?"

Lancer suddenly snarled. "I though I made it clear for both of ya to come alone!"

Reisi was confused. "I did."

"Then why can I sense your men approachin'?!"

Now that the man was made aware, he too could sense his Clansmen running here. "Those fools!" His men appeared and stood at the side of their King, sabers drawn and all glaring at Mikoto and Lancer. "I thought I told you to head back!"

"I know," Seri replied. "But I had a feeling that you were about to do something dangerous and we wanted to assist...Wait, Doumyouji!"

Andy had jumped through the air at the Red Servant, his saber enveloped in a blaze of blue aura. He slashed down at the man, who held up his hand.

"No way..." Andy gasped. This Servant had just caught the blade and stopped it with his bare hand! He wanted to laugh. Do these Clansmen seriously believe they have a sliver of a chance of taking him down?!

"Pathetic third-rate imitation mages!" he shouted. "Don't underestimate a Servant's durability!" His fingers closed around the caught saber and the blade shattered in less than a second. A weapon of a King would last a little longer against a Servant's crushing grasp due to the King using it being able to fill the weapon with their powerful aura, but it would also end up breaking.

Andy looked shocked, not defending himself in time from the smack he received from the shaft of Lancer's spear, which he swung with his left hand - he's actually ambidextrous. He knocked down Ryuuhou, who tried to catch the young man as he went flying back to the others.

Lancer looked at his right hand after he dropped the broken pieces of metal. There was a cut in the palm of his glove and the skin was sliced a little with some bleeding. That shouldn't be. The attack was too weak. Perhaps he had too much fun last night and one day wasn't enough to bring him back to 100%. The wound took only a second to seal itself shut since it was clear of any foreign objects.

At the same time the Servant glanced at his palm, Saruhiko threw several knives at the Red Clan leader. Given Lancer's speed and how close he was to the Master, he could easily deflect them. But he knew how powerful Mikoto's aura is as a defense. Sure enough, a thin wall of his aura caused all the knives to bounce uselessly off.

Lancer did move in front of his Master when Archer fired a few arrows. They would easily penetrate the aura and they came too fast for Mikoto to react and strengthen the shield. His skill knocked them away, the closeness of the attack making it so he couldn't use his spear in time.

"The fuck, Archer?!" the wolf spat. "Why don't ya take on a spirit?! Or are ya just too scared to fight me?"

"That skill...it must be Protection From Arrows," Archer murmured.

Mikoto put a hand on Lancer's shoulder. "While I appreciate ya savin' me just now, mind steppin' to the side? You're only a centimeter shorter than me, so I can't exactly see what's goin' on with you right there."

Lancer took a few steps to his left. "O-oh!"

As he did, Seri slashed her sword twice, launching a large arrow of blue aura at Lancer. It being low-level magecraft, the demigod's Magic Resistance took it out.

He sighed and lazily glanced at the squad. "Look, while I'm not crazy 'bout beatin' on humans who aren't Masters, naturally I'll kill all of ya if ya keep tryna attack - Whoa!"

He was abruptly cut off as a bolt of blue aura from the Blue King was suddenly shot at the wolf while he was talking. He used his spear to block it in time. Magecraft fired from a King is too powerful to nullify, since it's High Thaumaturgy - the power coming directly from the Dresden Slate - and his Magic Resistance is ranked C.

He grinned and chuckled a little. "That was a nice plan. Attemptin' to distract me with a weak attack so ya can nail me with a powerful one." He was genuinely praising Reisi.

Reisi narrowed his violet eyes at the demigod. "I won't let you kill my men, you monster."

"A monster..." Lancer breathed, too quietly to be heard. Then the warrior spoke normally. "So you're concerned 'bout others and not yourself. I respect that." He pointed his spear at the King, crimson eyes narrowed a little. "Unfortunately, not enough to let ya live."

He heard the air being cut. Around a couple dozen arrows, coming down in a rain over the warrior...and his Master! Even if Mikoto's a King, he's still a human. He's most likely unaware of the incoming danger. Those arrows were shot so fast that they had broken the sound barrier. Archer was utilizing the weakness all Servants have, their instinct to protect their Master. He flashed to his Master's side, using his spear to knock away the arrows. This made his back face Reisi, which the Blue King took advantage of.

Reisi shot forward and swung his saber at Lancer's neck, blue aura blazing around it. He could simply kill the Servant then have the Red King in custody until the War's end.

"Not gonna let that happen!" Mikoto had his back pressed against his Servant's, blocking the blade with his forearm enveloped in his red aura. It looked totally normal, as if the sword hit metal instead of flesh. The redhead reacted so fast, it was like he expected the other King to utilize that distraction.

"Archer and I will handle this!" Reisi ground out while looking at his Clansmen out of the corner of one eye. The two Kings broke apart, creating a distance of five meters between them. "The rest of you head back to HQ for real this time!"

"Let me at least assist you!" Seri protested.

"This is not a normal scuffle with the Red Clan but a fight for the Holy Grail! I don't want any of you getting dragged into it!"

Seri was a little shocked. The Captain has never spoken with such insistence. At least, she had never been present before to hear it. With some hesitation, she turned to the other Clansmen. "Return to base!" As she and the others retreated, the blond looked back over her shoulder. "Make sure to come back alive, Captain."

Lancer glanced at Mikoto. _'Just let 'em go?'_

_'Yeah. Just keep focused on your prey.'_

The Celt chuckled. _'Referrin' to Archer as prey?'_

_'We both know you've marked him as your target.'_

_'Well, ya've gotta point.'_

Archer bow vanished in a flash of golden mana. He held up his fists. "Your skill's troublesome, Lancer. We'll fight using this method instead." Judging by last night, the Servant has a quick temper, but he seems to fight with honor. He should agree to this.

Gáe Bolg dematerialized. "So that's the game ya wanna play, huh? Fine, but it just means your death will be more drawn out! I'll teach ya the hard way it wasn't a smart move to challenge me to hand-to-hand combat. Now, come at me!"

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Reisi hadn't moved. "What Iwafune said to ya last night...ya ain't lettin' that bother ya, right?" Mikoto asked.

"Oh? Are you concerned for my mental well-being?"

The man looked away. "O-of course not! Hearin' your ideals is annoyin', but that guy's cynicism is even more annoyin'! I just wanna know if I'll hafta put up with more of that shit now."

Reisi smiled a little. "Glad to hear that."

Archer was firing enhanced arrows at Lancer, seeing if they would work. The golden mana causing an explosion seemed to bypass the spearman's Protection From Arrows. He was having to block and dodge. It must not be too high in rank.

The two Kings were attacking each other now. Sparks of blue and red showered around the two with each clash.

Mikoto grinned. "Sorry, Munakata, but you won't see the next day."

Reisi smirked as he projected a shield of his aura to defend against a massive blaze the Red King conjured. "I was just about to say the same to you."

Archer was struggling but managing to use his bow to block Lancer's rapid yet powerful spear strikes. However, some were able to get through. This Servant was moving too fast to get a lock on for Antares Snipe. He was casually moving around at several times the speed of sound. In that case, his top speed is most likely much higher. Even the bowman's hawk-like eyes struggled to keep up with the ever-increasing movement speed. Only Archer's Clairvoyance and his Eye of the Mind skills, which combined grant him limited future sight for battle, were saving him. Besides, the centaur doesn't know what rank the demigod's Protection From Arrows is at. It might be too high for the Noble Phantasm, since it's not an AOE projectile.

The clashing between Archer and Lancer continued. A rain of those enhanced arrows poured down on Lancer from the sky. But before they could hit, a beam of his red mana took them out.

Lancer grinned at Archer, who was standing a couple dozen meters away. "Too bad! It was wasted effort!"

Archer met those crimson eyes evenly. "I wonder about that."

The hairs on Lancer stood on end and he looked at his Master. "Shit!" Some arrows were going for the back of Mikoto's head, him too distracted with fighting the Blue King to dodge. Lancer jumped in front of the projectiles, grabbing two and skill blocking the rest. He threw the two he caught back with almost as much force as when they were fired. Archer simply moved his head to the side, the arrows flying past and hitting a building far behind with an explosion of metal and concrete. "Bastard!"

How long had the fighting been going on? An hour? Two? Perhaps longer? The Red Servant lost track. The area surrounding the four closely resembled a multitude of bombs having gone off due to the clashing of the two Master-Servant pairs. In fact, a gas line explosion will most likely be the cover story for all this destruction.

Lancer and Archer were staring the other down. Archer had managed to hit Lancer a few times, though it was amazing given the wolf's far superior speed. There was one injury that looked to be the most serious. It's a large gash on the left side of Celtic Servant's neck, over the metal collar, delivered by a blow from Archer's bow. It was deep enough that his head was almost halfway severed. The hound's blood heavily stained the white fur by the left side of his neck and puddled at his feet. But it didn't look to be affecting him. He actually looked pretty pissed.

He was panting a little while snarling at the bowman. "Okay, you're pretty good. I'll give ya that. Guess ya aren't a Knight Class for nothin'. But I won't go down that easily."

There were several slashes and other wounds scattered all over Archer's body from Lancer's demonic weapon and some of his hand-to-hand blows that got through. The bruises from minor internal injuries that were received cleared up in only a second and some of the wounds not delivered by the spear are already closed. The Greek Servant readied arrows in his bow to attack Lancer again. "That's good to hear. After all, what kind of Servant would just go down without serious damage to the heart or brain or with their head still attached?"

Both Kings were facing each other, panting hard. Mikoto was favoring his left leg for standing on. Reisi's saber impaled his right thigh. The other had several bleeding wounds.

The Blue King suddenly lunged forward and firmly grabbed the front of the redhead's shirt and yanked him forward. Amber eyes went wide when he felt a pair of warm, soft lips crash into his own. Only the sound of the two Servants fighting broke the otherwise silent air.

The one with the dark blue hair pulled his face back and released the other man. "One or both of us will be dead at the end of the Grail War. I wanted to do this before it was too late." He smirked. "This was a perfect chance since you're in a bit of a vulnerable position."

Mikoto scowled at those words. "Same goes for you." He glanced at the blood staining the other King's uniform when he said that. "Sorry, but the attraction's one-sided. Also, I've already got someone." Red aura enveloped him. "Now, you should back away 'fore I burn ya."

Reisi's face fell, disappointed. He took a few steps back. "I see..."

Mikoto came at Reisi, throwing a flaming fist. The other man sidestepped and slammed the blunt side of his blade into the back of the Red King's left knee.

"Shit..!" he spat out, feeling something break. He ended up falling forward.

"I'm sorry, Suoh. But you lose in this game," Reisi said coldly. His sword cut through the air, going for Mikoto's neck.

The sharp edge of the saber collided with the crimson shaft of Lancer's demonic spear. When did he show up?! "Bastard!" The warrior was snarling as he glared daggers at the Blue King with rage burning in his blood-red eyes. "Don't think I'll just let my Master die without doin' somethin'." He grabbed the Blue King's shoulder with his free hand and brought him down so his abdomen slammed into the Servant's knee. The man coughed viciously, globs of blood coming up, and staggered back several steps.

Reisi was doubled over, grimacing. One hand was gripped onto the golden handle of his saber, using it as support with the blade dug into the road. The other was tightly pressed against his abdomen. Blood continued to fill his throat and spill from his mouth. Just how much internal damage did that one blow cause?!

"Master!" Archer shouted, flashing to his side. "I apologize. That Servant's too fast for me to have stopped him in time from that distance." But now that he's right beside the Blue King, he can hopefully prevent any other assault.

The violet-eyed man released his abdomen to weakly grab the bottom of his Servant's shirt. Then he fell towards Archer, who quickly grabbed him. "Ar...cher..."

Though both Kings were still conscious, neither were able to stand anymore. The Servants are still able to fight, but doing so would mean possibly allowing their Master to be killed by the other familiar.

"Lancer, we should put this battle on hold for now to get our Masters medical attention. We'll pick it up another night," the centaur said.

Lancer tsked, but he knew Archer was right. As much as he wanted to keep fighting, his Master's life takes priority. He got Mikoto on his back and rushed to Homra. He had to leap from rooftop to rooftop to avoid detection.

"What happened to the both of you?!" Yõ demanded as soon as they entered the bar.

"It's night, so whaddaya think?" Mikoto replied dryly before grimacing in pain. "Dammit..!"

"It's a good sign if ya can still retort like that when injured..." Izumo muttered.

"You said you had an errand to run and would meet me to view the city at night later and you had Lancer accompany you because, well...it's night!" Tatara exclaimed.

"You're a smart guy, Tatara," Lancer said. "You probably just figured out he had to lie for your protection. This was so you wouldn't be in danger."

"But you two got injured badly!"

"I'm fine. Servants can deal with enough damage to kill a human to a certain extent. A lotta the concern should go to Mikoto. He can't walk too well right now. His left leg's broken and his right thigh's been run through. It'll take me a few hours to fix the break. Bone cells tend to take longer to regenerate, though more time could be spent if the damage is worse than I think it is. Also, I'm unfortunately only able to heal one wound at a time in this Class so he'll need first-aid."

"Still, you need to get patched up as well," Izumo insisted to the warrior. "I'll take care of you and Totsuka can handle Mikoto."

Bandages were wrapped thickly around the knight's neck while only small treatment by comparison was given to his other injuries. Mikoto, meanwhile, was laying on the couch with Tatara treating him.

"Lancer doesn't look so good," Kousuke commented, noticing that the Servant not only appeared exhausted, but his steps were heavy.

"Your red doesn't look as bright," Anna added, staring at the Irish Servant with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine!" he insisted. He plopped down on a barstool and ripped out a cigarette.

"Your mana isn't low enough where you're in danger of fadin', but ya can't fight for very long until it's restored," Izumo said, moving an ashtray by the Servant.

"Ya can tell that by lookin' at me?"

"Ya look pretty tired, and that means ya need more mana. Since ya don't appear like you're runnin' a fever, it's probably not dire."

"I got a little worked up durin' the fight is all. I still can't believe that an _Archer_ waged a close-quarters fight with me! Worst part was that we ended up kickin' each other's asses instead of just me kickin' his ass! That fucker really pisses me off!"

"It seems like ya hate the Blue Servant like Mikoto hates the Blue King," Izumo sighed. "You two can be so similar sometimes that it's scary. At least you two seem to get along well."

Mikoto chuckled. "How much would you guys believe me if I said that guy's alignment is Lawful Neutral?"

"You're kiddin' right?" Masaomi asked slowly.

"I'm not. Servants' alignments are on their stats."

"But he acts like he doesn't have a care in the world and he has a pretty short fuse sometimes!"

"You can stop talkin' like I'm not here!" Lancer yelled back. "I have my own personal moral code, y'know. I act like this because it's how I acted when I was alive."

"Lancer, drink my blood to restore mana."

The demigod first appeared shocked then looked uncertain. "I really don't wanna take blood from ya."

"You'll be able to use healin' runes to stop the bleedin', even from an artery." He tilted his head to the side. "Bite my neck. You'll get a lotta blood there."

He sighed. "...Fine. But let me know if I start to accidentally drink too much. I don't want ya to pass out."

He came over, rested his hands on Mikoto's shoulders, and leaned in his face to the side of the King's neck. Those sharp canines gently brushed over the soft skin of his neck before sinking down into the jugular underneath. Mikoto let out a small hiss of pain. Lancer began quietly drinking the crimson liquid that flowed forth.

"This is just his way of restorin' energy, right?" Misaki asked the bartender. "He's not preyin' on the King like a vampire?"

"Yes. The energy known as mana, which can be found in blood, is essential for Servants to remain materialized. He'll fade if he runs out, though luckily there are warnin' signs if the level's low. While Servants are able to restore mana daily, it's slow. This'll keep him from suddenly collapsin' if he fights a Servant before havin' recovered enough of it. Servants low on mana are also weaker, makin' them take more damage than normal from supernatural attacks. The other method for a quick mana restoration is known as a mana transfer. I looked it up, and it's pretty...intimate. Suffice it to say, the details shouldn't be divulged with Anna around."

Misaki blushed and looked away. "O-oh..."

Mikoto pat his Servant's back. "That's all, Lancer. I'm startin' to feel dizzy." Lancer pulled his head back and used his magecraft to close the incision he made. "How ya doin'?"

"I can fight a Servant for awhile. Thanks for this, Mikoto."

The King, a little embarrassed, turned his head away. "I-I only did this 'cause I needja in fightin' form!" Everyone else chuckled.

"That Reisi Munakata is a dangerous defensive enemy. Normally, a human would die from being kneed that hard. But he managed to react to the incomin' danger fast enough to have some of the aura inside his body absorb the impact. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to prevent a blow of that strength from bein' fatal. Considerin' how exhausted he must've been, being able to draw out that much defense is impressive. Guess he isn't a King for nothin'."


End file.
